


No Rest For The Wicked

by theartificialluci



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Original Team Flash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-05-13 16:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 27,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14752235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theartificialluci/pseuds/theartificialluci
Summary: A rogue group of Metahumans take Caitlin and Cisco in their hunt for the Flash, and Barry does everything in his power to keep his identity and theirs hidden. There's more danger than they'd ever anticipated, and they learn that keeping the truth uncovered may put all of their lives at risk.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Quick disclaimer; the characters are not mine, nor is S.T.A.R. labs. The story itself and the Metas are my own.

Caitlin had only had one second, almost exactly one second, to walk into S.T.A.R. labs before chaos descended on her morning. She’d taken off her sunglasses and placed them in her handbag, and taken a sip of her coffee as she walked through the door.

The lab looked pristine, just as she’d left it the night before, and her desk space had also remained untouched. Even Cisco’s desk, which was usually a mess, was an organised one and nothing looked out of place. Caitlin checked for glass on the floor or messed-with equipment to account for the noises she was hearing. 

Something was wrong, if she was judging by the sheer volume of Cisco and Harry’s voices. She’d been expecting to see something other than her team sitting at Cisco’s computer.  


Cisco was screaming into his computer, occasionally laughing manically in triumph. Harry was standing behind him, poking his screen excitedly until Cisco swatted him away. They both yelled loud enough to give Caitlin a headache, and she sighed.  
Suddenly, Cisco called out in anguish, Harry’s face reflecting his friend’s despair. Caitlin looked from one to the other in panic. 

“What’s going on? Is Barry in trouble?” Caitlin said, putting her coffee on Cisco’s Star Wars coaster. 

“What, Barry? Nah he’s fine, we’re playing Pac-Man. He went looking for some Metas like ten minutes ago.” 

Cisco didn’t look up from his computer, and his tongue hang out of the side of his mouth as his fingers tapped frantically. Caitlin took another sip of her coffee, deciding her body would thank her for it later. 

“Have you checked on him?” she asked, coming around to watch Cisco’s screen. 

“Of course Dr Snow. He is currently both bringing down Metas and roasting my Pac-Man game. Right Flash?” asked Cisco. 

Barry’s breathless voice came over the speaker, “I mean you weren’t even close to my high score, but I could use your help right now.” 

Caitlin lightly slapped his arm as if to make it known that she was right. He flapped her away and answered Barry. 

“Oh, what do you need?” said Cisco. 

“There’s more than one, but I can’t reach them.” 

Caitlin leaned over Cisco, “Barry, you sound hurt. Come back now.” 

“But Cait-”

She put her hands on her hips, even though she knew Barry wasn’t about to see her. Subconscious habit, Cisco thought. 

“Now Barry, I need to check you over.” 

A deep sigh came from the other end of the comm, which made Cisco laugh and Caitlin roll her eyes. He appeared in the room moments later, struggling for breath. He seemed fine, but revealed a cut over his eyebrow when he took his mask off. 

“What happened out there dude?” asked Cisco. 

“They came at me from everywhere. There’s a group of them, three I think,” breathed Barry. His hands were on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.  
“What can they do?” asked Cisco excitedly, walking over to where Barry was standing. 

“There was a man I tried to run to but he protected himself with a shield. It was like white energy, it burned when I touched it,” said Barry.  
Cisco’s eyes searched the suit for any burn marks or holes, but turned his attention back to Barry when he determined the suit was in the same condition it was before. 

“I’m thinking Force Field?” he asked, looking to Barry and Caitlin for approval. Caitlin, who was still sitting at her computer, shrugged slowly. 

“Not your best,” Barry agreed. 

“Okay, okay tough crowd. What about the other two then?” 

“The woman kept transporting and reappearing, but like she was gradually disappearing. And there was another guy who was really strong. Probably not Hulk level; that would’ve been cooler but his punches were like being hit with a brick.”

It was Caitlin’s turn for concern as she jumped out of her chair and held Barry’s head, moving it around gently and checking for concussion. He rolled his eyes fondly at Cisco.  
“What about Fader for the woman?” Caitlin suggested. 

“I kinda like it,” said Barry. 

Cisco’s mouth fell open in offense and he glared daggers at her.

“What? Maybe I want to name one for a change?”

“Yeah I do too, what about Mega for the other guy?” 

“You two can’t do this to me! What am I even here for if not to give amazing names to our Meta friends? Do you both want me to just walk out of here?” Cisco whined. 

“Maybe focus on finding the three Metas that you all wasted time on aptly naming?” Joe said from where he stood in the doorway, with Harry at his side.  
His voice interrupted Caitlin and Barry’s laughing, and with flushed faces they turned to the other members of the team. 

“About that, Barry managed to put a tracker on the Fader,” said Cisco with a pointed look at Caitlin, “so all we have to do is load it onto the computer and we should be ready to go.” 

The team followed Cisco over to his computer. The desktop background he’d chosen was the same as Caitlin’s after she’d claimed it was nice to have the happy memory in front of her when she was stressed. 

It was the first time the three of them had gone out together, and was the only time they’d been successful in getting Barry drunk. They were sat on bar stools, barely holding themselves upright, laughing as Caitlin knocked over her drink. He grinned when he clicked past it to type in the tracker number for the Fader. 

“Okay, says she’s still in Central City, heading to the Gold City Bank,” said Cisco, turning to Barry. 

“I’ll take Joe with me; you two keep me updated on the Fader. Hopefully the others will be with her,” said Barry, nodding at Cisco and Caitlin.  
They sat back down by their desks as Barry whisked Joe away with a gust of air and lightening. 

“I’ll be in the Speed lab if you need me,” said Harry after glancing over Cisco’s shoulder to make sure the Fader was still by the bank. 

Cisco and Caitlin nodded distractedly, not even taking their eyes off their screens to high-five when Barry came through the comms saying he’d seen the Fader. 

“Did you get her, Bar?” asked Caitlin. 

Her grin faltered when there wasn’t a response. Cisco noticed her frown and checked the computer. Both Barry and the Fader’s trackers were still at the bank. 

“There’s nothing wrong with the trackers, why isn’t he responding?” asked Cisco. 

“I don’t know maybe there’s something wrong with his comm link?” said Caitlin. 

The lights began to flicker and both Cisco and Caitlin ducked. They were used to Barry racing into S.T.A.R. lads with such a force the lightbulbs shattered and the team were encased in sheets of paper that had were flying in every direction. Except, Barry didn’t appear and the lights didn’t explode. There were footsteps, ones too slow to be Barry’s.  
Cisco leapt out of his chair and grabbed Caitlin, who had been trying to figure out what was hijacking her computer screen. He stood back, his arm in front of her to offer what protection he could. 

“Should I vibe us outta here?” asked Cisco in a whisper. Caitlin shook her head, eyes trained to the door.  
“Remember what Harry said. We don’t know who it is. They could use our powers against us or something. Besides, could just be Joe or Iris, no need to freak out.” 

Cisco gave her a look that said, ‘are you serious?’ as he continued to freak out, the footsteps growing louder.  
He squeezed his eyes shut as the door opened, and Caitlin did the same. 

“There’s nothing wrong with his comms link, but yours on the other hand…” 

The deep voice that greeted them came from a large, muscular man who strolled through the door. His hands were balled into fists, almost the size of Cisco’s head. Another man followed behind with a sneer on his face, looking Caitlin and Cisco up and down. He was shorter than his friend, but was still a good foot taller than Cisco, and Caitlin when she wasn’t wearing heels. 

They’d been listening. Had they revealed Barry’s name? Joe would kill them both if they’d blurted Barry’s identity to some Metahumans. 

“So I guess you’re Force Field and Mega?” asked Cisco sheepishly. 

“You gave us nicknames, how cute.” The larger of the two, Mega, said. 

Force Field was wandering too close to Caitlin for Cisco’s liking. 

“What we want is fairly simple. The man we work for wants Metas. To work for him or to kill, don’t know, don’t care. The only reason he keeps us alive is to find as many as we can. Now, we know you work for the Flash. Our boss offers a special reward for bringin’ down heroes and vigilantes. You gonna give us what we want?” said Mega. 

“We don’t know the Flash. For the last time, just ‘cause we’re S.T.A.R. labs scientists doesn’t mean we work with the Flash, why doesn’t anyone get that?” said Cisco. 

“We doing this the hard way then?” asked Mega. 

Mega nodded at Force Field, who’d had his eyes on Caitlin, and he held up his palm in Cisco’s direction. A white wave shot from his palm and sent Cisco flying across the room like a rag-doll. He crashed into a table of test-tubes and dishes with a pained groan. 

“Cisco!” Caitlin cried. She tried to run to him but Mega stepped forward and grabbed her wrist. He held it so tightly that she thought she heard a crack, but she didn’t dare look down at it. She willed him not to move around too much, as he had a tendency to flail, worried about the shattered glass that surrounded him.  
She was more concerned that after a long few seconds that he was still motionless. 

Cisco felt a deep and painful ringing in his ears. He saw a few droplets of blood in front of him and he frowned. Was it his? He had to drag himself upright, but he might as well still be lying in a heap as the room spun. He wasn’t sure if he was even facing their foe anymore, all he could focus on was not throwing up all over the equipment. He knew that would be a bitch to clean and he sure as hell wasn’t going to do it.  
Cisco almost forgot that he wasn’t the only one on the line. He could wait for someone to swoop in and save him, but the only person who could do that was in trouble themselves. 

“Caitlin,” he said; his voice hoarse and barely-there. 

His vision cleared enough for him to find two huge, blurred figures leering over her. She was pressed against the wall as she searched for a weapon she could utilise. One of them lurched forward and pinned her arms behind her back. She yelped in surprise and Cisco tried to scramble to his feet. He groaned when his body wouldn’t cooperate. 

This caught the attention of the figures and they turned around to face him, swinging Caitlin around with them. She winced and her eyes found Cisco’s. She was scared.  
“Don’t make me come over there again, Mr Ramon.” 

When they were satisfied he’d stay quiet, the smaller of the two Metahumans took the bottle he’d left on the lab table and emptied some onto a dirty cloth from his pocket. Cisco felt sick as he watched him press the cloth to Caitlin’s trembling mouth. 

Her legs weakened and buckled to the point where her body slumped onto the floor, no longer needing to be held up by the Meta. Her eyelids drooped as her chin hit the ground, but she propped herself up on her elbows.  
Cisco watched Caitlin push herself up, just like he had tried to, but her body was weakened to the point where she couldn’t even move it. 

“What’s taking so long?” The bigger Metahuman, Cisco couldn’t remember which names he’d given them, growled. 

Caitlin, though barely conscious, looked angrier than Cisco had ever seen her. He imagined how satisfying it would be to see her gather enough strength to kick him where it hurts. 

“Chloroform takes at least five minutes to knock someone out. This isn’t Angel of Fury,” said Cisco. 

Some static by Cisco’s computer drew the Metahumans’ attention. It wasn’t clear enough to be audible, though Cisco noted that may just be him in his current state, but the two men looked panicked. 

“Looks like we’ve gotta get out of here now. Lucky I’m less of a gentleman than my friend here,” The bigger Meta said. 

He raised his large hand above his head and struck it down on the back of Caitlin’s. She dropped immediately onto the floor with a thud and Cisco winced.  
He felt someone approach him and he groaned when he saw the same hand above him. His fading vision blurred into a flash of yellow before he lost all sense of anything.


	2. Chapter 2

“Joe, we’ve got a problem,” said Barry. 

He knew his voice was shaking, and he could feel his body trembling. Joe must’ve noticed too because he hung up almost immediately, and Barry knew he was on his way to S.T.A.R. labs. 

The Fader had warned Barry about his friends when he’d locked her up in their Meta prison. She’d be able to fade out of regular prison with ease, so Joe reluctantly gave her up. 

She’d leaned close to the glass, almost nose to nose with Barry and she’d said, “You thinking about my good friends? Maybe next time you shouldn’t leave your employees alone with Metas more dangerous than me.” 

That’s when she’d got to him. He’d held his nerve up until that point, as he did with every Meta they brought in, but this time he’d thrown his hand against the glass. She didn’t flinch. 

“What are you talking about?” Barry demanded. 

The Fader shrugged, “Go see for yourself.” 

He had. He’d hesitantly flashed to where he’d left Cisco and Caitlin and found that they were no longer there. He didn’t touch anything; his work with forensics had taught him that, until Joe and Iris arrived with the same grave look on their face. 

“What happened?” Iris asked. 

“Mega and Force Field took Cisco and Caitlin,” Barry said with gritted teeth. 

“How do you know?” 

“The Fader told me, she was just the distraction. They were looking for me Joe, not them.” 

“Barry, this isn’t your fault.”

But Barry wasn’t listening. Instead he walked over to the shattered glass below one of the tables. They were broken with such a force that the glass reached to Cisco’s desk on the other side of the room. He saw a few drops of blood where the glass had originally shattered. He shuddered. 

Joe put on gloves and picked something up from the ground. He gagged and caught Barry’s attention. He held it as far away from his face as possible. 

“What is it?” asked Barry, though he feared he already knew the answer. 

“It’s a cloth with chloroform soaked into it. Look, it’s got Caitlin’s lipstick on it.” 

There was a print of Caitlin’s red lips on the white fabric, and Barry ran a hand through his hair. Joe gave him a comforting pat on the back, but his face showed his concern. 

“What are we going to do? I can show this to the police, hopefully they have some files on them?” Joe suggested. 

“No, Joe. I’m going to go and find them.” 

“Barry, listen. If they’re looking for the Flash you can’t just give them the Flash. They probably won’t hurt Cisco or Caitlin, but there’s no guarantee for you,” Iris said. 

“That ‘probably’ isn’t a good enough reason for me to not risk it. I’m going to get the Fader to tell me where they went. You two go and look in the police files.” 

Iris and Joe both knew it was useless arguing with him, especially with the forceful determination on his face. Iris noted down any evidence they’d found and walked begrudgingly back to the car. Barry watched them go. 

“What, what happened in here?” 

Barry turned around to see Harry hanging sheepishly in the doorway. He could see the anger on Barry’s face so he kept back, scuffing his shoes on the floor. 

“Why didn’t you help them?” demanded Barry. 

“You mean Cisco and Caitlin?” 

“Yes, I mean Cisco and Caitlin! They’ve been taken, and are probably hurt, and where were you? You didn’t even call me to help.” 

“I-I was down in the Speed lab, I didn’t hear anything.” 

Barry didn’t mean to take his anger and fear out on Harry, and he sighed. He sat down on the steps of the lab, trying not to look at the blood on the floor near him, and Harry sat beside him. 

“How are you going to get them back?” Harry asked. 

“They want the Flash, so maybe I’ll give them Barry,” he said. 

Harry frowned, “So, you’re going to plan some sort of sneak attack? Like under cover?” 

“Yeah, that’s the plan. I can’t leave them there. One of them is hurt, and Caitlin was drugged…I can’t just sit around and do nothing.” 

“I know you can’t. Just get them both back safe. They both have kidnapping experience, they’ll be okay until you find them,” said Harry. 

He was right; they’d both been through a lot. He remembered the look on Caitlin’s face when Zoom had taken her, and her face when she’d found her way back. He’d told her she’d never have to go through something like that again. He’d lied to her. 

“I’m going to go talk to the Fader. Listen into the comms in case you hear anything.” Barry said. Harry nodded and sat in Cisco’s chair. His eyes landed on Caitlin’s coffee at his desk, which had now gone cold, and he sighed. 

Barry pressed the large button in front of the prison cell, opening the front so that he could see Fader. She was sat with her back to the glass, not acknowledging Barry until he was as close as she was to the glass. He switched on the speaker. 

“I need you to tell me where my friends are.” 

The Fader gave him an amused smile. She leaned on the glass, looking at him with narrowed eyes. 

“So you didn’t find them waiting for you then?” 

She looked at him coyly. The Fader brought her hand to her face and started to pick dirt from underneath her nails, too casually for someone locked up. 

“Please, I need to find them. They’re not the ones that your friends want. Let me save them,” said Barry. 

“What’s in it for me? I’m not snitching on my friends for no deal,” said the Fader. 

“If my friends come back unharmed, we’ll let you go.” 

The Fader laughed bitterly, “Oh yeah right, as if I’ll fall for that one.” 

“I wouldn’t lie to you.” 

“Oh and how am I supposed to know that?” 

“Okay, here’s my other offer. We won’t turn you into the police. Trust me; you’ll be much better here than you will with them. We’ll keep you safe from your friends too; you know if they find you here they’ll kill you.” 

The Fader’s laugh faltered.

“Yes, I suppose you’re right. They both hide out in the abandoned building in Washington Heights. They have all their stuff there, so I bet that’s where they’ve taken your nerd friends.” 

“Isn’t that the old neighbourhood down Brooks Street?” 

The Fader nodded, “That’s the one.”

“Thanks,” breathed Barry as he bolted back upstairs, leaving the Fader watching him through the glass. 

Harry looked up at him as he appeared. 

“Did you get what you needed then?” he asked.

“They’re in Washington Heights. I’ll bring them both back, I promise,” said Barry. 

“Be careful, Allen. If you aren’t back soon, I’ll call Joe for reinforcement and he isn’t going to be happy that I let you go.” 

Barry smiled gratefully and ran into the street, leaving a trail of lightening behind him. He hadn’t thought of a reasonable plan, and he knew Cisco and Caitlin would both lecture him if he ran head first into the danger. 

He saw Washington Heights ahead of him, and he heard the noises that echoed from the houses and alleyways towards him. Barry decided he would get as close as he could to be building and see if he could see his friends. He figured it wouldn’t be difficult to phase in and out, or to carry Caitlin free. If he could get Caitlin free, then Cisco could vibe himself out of the building. 

The area was run down and the houses looked as if they had been there for far too long. The ones that weren’t crumbling were covered in graffiti of all colours. The bold, bright spray paint brightened up the grey housing. He decided not to use his speed, as the area was full of people standing around on the street. It was mostly teenagers, sitting on whatever patches of grass they were able to find. They hadn’t noticed him and he was glad, as he stood out in the neighbourhood. 

He knew the abandoned house the Fader had told him about. It was the most derelict of them all, and once hosted parties for the local young people. There were still some plastic red cups and pizza boxes littering the outside. 

Some Metas had taken the space over, and any party that was hosted there ended up in injury or terrified teenagers. Since then, everyone knew to leave the space alone. 

Barry walked as closely to the wall as he could so that he wasn’t spotted. He worried that his speed would draw too much attention to him. He found the abandoned house on the corner of the street. It was set farther back than the others, and it stood out with gnarled trees and glass on the front garden, which was mostly all concrete anyway. 

He stepped towards the short brick wall that lined the abandoned house, hoping to see whatever was going on inside. He was just grateful that he couldn’t hear any screams or see any signs of his friends being hurt inside. 

“Why are you standing outside my house?”

The deep voice startled him. He jumped up, surprised, and turned around to face the large man standing behind him. The man tapped his foot and leered down at him. 

“Oh, I, I wasn’t…I just was waiting for, for someone and I thought this was their house?” Barry stumbled through a weak, awkward excuse. 

“No, you didn’t.” stated the man. 

Barry wasn’t sure how he’d expected this to play out, so he stayed where he was. If he sped away, the men would know the Flash had come for Cisco and Caitlin, and then they’d definitely be used as bait. He couldn’t risk it. 

“I must just be in the wrong place, I’ll see you around,” said Barry. 

Barry heard a voice in the ear of the man, and realised he was talking to someone else to. The words sounded like, ‘bring him in too’ and he gulped. 

“You want to follow me?” The man asked. 

Barry bit his lip, “Not really.” 

The man grabbed Barry by the shoulders, his hands almost crushing his bones. They might have done, considering his ability to heal. He was pushing Barry towards the front door of the building, which had its windows replaced with pieces of wood nailed to where the glass used to be. The man kicked it open and once they walked through it swung closed again with such power it almost broke off the hinges. 

There wasn’t any furniture in the house, but Barry thought he could smell a fire burning in one of the rooms. The rooms the man dragged Barry through mostly contained nothing but bottles and cardboard boxes. 

Barry could hear people talking in the distance, but he knew it wasn’t his team. He wondered how many Metas were actually in the house. 

He was led down a corridor which consisted of nothing but locked doors. Some noises could be heard from inside the doors, some sounded like they were pleading, with occasional kicks to the door. Barry made a mental note to reconsider keeping Metas within S.T.A.R. labs as he listened to the people on the other side of the doors.

He took him to the one on the end, which was further away from all of the other rooms. It was isolated at the end of the corridor. The room had scorch marks at the base of the door and scratches along the frame. The man took a key from his pocket and unlocked it. 

Barry was tossed into the room as if he were a rodent or insect, like his weight was nothing to the man who picked him up and threw him against the wall. The door slammed shut and Barry heard the lock twist. He groaned and tried to phase through the door, but there was something about it that meant his powers were too weak to save him. 

Barry turned around unsteadily and saw two figures slumped in the shadows. He fell to his knees to check the first one, which was Cisco. He had a cut on his face, and some dried blood, along with a large bruise on his temple. Barry tried to wake him up but he wouldn’t stir. 

He crawled over to Caitlin. Her hair was covering her face and he brushed it back. He saw a frown on her face, and she looked as though she was even scared in her sleep. She had a bruise in the same place as Cisco, and Barry could smell the chloroform on her. He knew there wasn’t a chance of waking her up. 

She tossed her head slightly and her face drew into a wince. He sat down beside her and her head fell into his lap. He leaned back with his head against the cold brick wall, rubbing circles onto her back until he fell asleep too


	3. Chapter 3

“Just let us go, doesn’t need to be a big deal…”  
“…no use, Cisco.” 

Caitlin had only been able to pick up fragments of the conversation being held in front of her. She recognised some of the voices, and others scared her.  


It took her a long time to open her eyes, but she was able to very slowly drag herself upright. She felt cool hands on her back, as if trying to soothe her. She struggled, not wanting any more trouble, but she recognised Barry’s voice. 

“It’s okay, you’re alright. Just go slow, Cait.” 

Caitlin leaned into his voice and gradually pried her eyes open. She found Cisco sitting beside her, looking slightly weary, leaning against the wall. Caitlin was still surprised to find Barry sitting next to her. He hadn’t been there the whole time, had he? 

She groaned and brought her hand to her head. Lights danced across her vision and she felt hot flushes creeping up her body. She still felt sick and she wondered what was stopping her from throwing up. It took her a while to remember that she had been drugged, and she frantically looked around in case the threat was still present. It was. 

"Ah, she's finally awake. In hindsight we should've measured the chloroform beforehand, at least then we could've made sure you'd wake up." 

She recognised the man in front of her. He was the one they'd named Force Field. Both he and his friend were standing over her. 

“What’s going on?” she asked; her words slow and slurring together. 

“You remember, don’t you? Didn’t think the chloroform would do such a number on you. We’re looking for Metas, specifically the Flash. We know that you and your friend over there are his mates. We found this man looking for you, friend as well I presume?” said Force Field.

“Never seen him before in my life,” shrugged Cisco. 

Mega crouched in front of Cisco and tilted his head. It was unnerving, and Cisco lost his eye contact. The second he looked down, Mega struck him on the head with the back of his hand. He called out in pain and grasped his head. 

“What was that for?” shouted Barry, lunging forward. His ankles were bound as he was chained to the wall, and they clashed together, stopping him from reaching the Metas. 

“I don’t like liars.” 

The three of them kept quiet after that. Force Field and Mega looked smug at their intimidation tactics, and especially enjoyed when Caitlin would flinch. 

“What do you want from us?” asked Barry. 

“Oh, I’m so glad you asked. Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to investigate you two,” Force Field gestured between Cisco and Caitlin, “for information on the Flash. Either you give it to us, or we make you uncomfortable until he comes for you.” 

“As for you, we’re going to need some details. Tell us who you are, where you come from, and why you came here. If you don’t, I’m sure one of them will,” added Mega. 

Force Field shot a wave of energy in Cisco’s direction and he winced, but all it did was break the chains that had been around his ankles. Mega dragged him up by the collar of his shirt, ignoring Barry’s protests. Cisco tried grasping at the door, and floor, and walls but Mega was too strong. 

Cisco was taken out of the room by Mega, with Force Field locking the door behind them. Caitlin winced as it slammed.  


Caitlin shouted for Cisco and tried to stretch to the door, as if there was some way she could reach him. She crawled back over to Barry when her ankles were stretched too painfully and put her head in her hands. 

They sat in silence for a while, unbearably long for Caitlin, as they both tried to figure out what was going on beyond the door. She was finally able to speak up and she turned to Barry. 

“What if he gets hurt? What if they hurt him for information, Barry? I can’t just sit here and wait for them to drag him back in here, bleeding or unconscious.” 

She knew that she was voicing her own fears, and she began to tremble. She hugged herself and pressed her face into her knees. She couldn’t sit through, and she knew if she could move around she’d be pacing. 

“That’s not going to happen to you,” said Barry. 

He gave her a determined look, but Caitlin bit her lip. 

“It’s probably going to happen to all of us,” Caitlin murmured bitterly. 

“I won’t let it,” he added. 

“You can’t stop it. There’s nothing you can do.” 

Her eyes widened when she realised he was planning something. 

“Barry, you can’t risk them finding out who you are. They’ll kill you! How am I supposed to patch you up then?” said Caitlin. 

“I can’t let that happen to you too!” said Barry, pointing to the door Cisco had disappeared through. 

“That isn’t your choice to make!” 

“Shut up in there!” 

Barry and Caitlin both froze when they heard a shout from the other side of the wall. The person, presumably Mega, threw his fist against the door with three loud thuds. It was the first time they’d heard someone else since Cisco and the Metas had left. They both strained to hear Cisco, but they could only just hear Mega.  


They could hear a key turn in the lock, and they both stood up. Caitlin tripped slightly, and had forgotten that her legs may still be unsteady. Her foot was tangled in the chains but she grasped the wall. Barry stood up too, both braced to help Cisco. 

Her training whirled around her mind, wondering what state they may find Cisco in. The room was completely bare; there wasn’t anything she could use to help him.  


But Cisco didn’t walk through the door. Force Field and Mega walked through alone. Caitlin craned her neck to see if Cisco was behind them but he wasn’t. 

Barry put his arm in front of Caitlin when the two Metas stepped into the room. They stood close to the doorway, and Barry tried to see any signs of Cisco. Mega blocked the doorway as Force Field stalked over to Caitlin. 

“If you lay a finger on her-”

“Yeah, yeah quiet lover boy. You just stay put, we’ll be sending someone in to say hello soon,” said Force Field. He crouched down in front of her, as if he was inspecting her, and smiled crookedly. 

“We need to talk, love. Your friend loves keeping you a mystery. Seems you’ve got a fair few secrets. You ready to give them to me?” 

The man held her jaw with his strong hands. His grip tightened until her mouth fell open. She tried to shake him off and beg him to let go, but she wasn’t able to form any coherent sentences. His hands went to her cheeks and he raised her head to look at him. 

“Follow me, darling.” 

The chains around her ankles broke when Force Field touched them. Caitlin contemplated trying to run, but she knew if she did Cisco and Barry would be the ones in trouble. She just hoped, if Barry was here, he told someone else where he was going and how to save them. 

She was taken out of the room just like Cisco had been. She noticed scratch marks on the floor beneath her, and a small drop of blood on the door handle that dripped onto the floor. She gulped. 

She was brought to the other end of the corridor, away from the rooms with people trapped on the other side. She saw another door, which separated the prison rooms from where the Metas seemed to live. She heard some laughter from the other side of the door, and wondered if the people Force Field and Mega worked for were here. 

The door sat on a thick brick wall. There was a small blue mat next to the door against the wall. Force Field lifted it up while Mega held her back. There was a hatch in the floor, and he lifted it up to reveal a hole in the floor. It looked to Caitlin as if it was once a basement, but was now sealed up. 

“Follow Mega down the ladder. I have some business to attend to with your other friend,” said Force Field. He said ‘friend’ with a pointed tone, almost a snarl. 

As Caitlin began to descend the ladder on shaking legs, Force Field slammed the hatch shut, nearly trapping her fingers. Unsettled in the dark, she climbed to the bottom, aware of a slightly echoing whimper. 

The room was much larger than the one they had been in before. It was much darker though, and had the mixed scent of dried blood and damp. Caitlin wrinkled her nose. There was a bed in one corner, just the metal frame without a mattress or pillow, and what looked like a dentist chair in another corner. There were two stacked boxes against the wall, and what looked like CCTV cameras hanging from the walls. 

The hard, concrete ground was hurting Caitlin’s feet. She was only wearing small heels, but she could feel the aching and blisters as if she had been wearing them for days.  


Mega walked over to light fixtures on the wall and turned on the lights that hung from the ceiling. They flickered but shone brightly, causing Caitlin to squeeze her eyes shut.  
When she opened them, she saw Cisco huddled on the floor. 

“Cisco!” She screamed, running over to him. 

She rolled him over to face her. Blood ran freely from his nose, and ran down his cheek onto the ground. One eye was swollen shut, and the other was closed. She knew he was unconscious and checked him for any head injuries. 

“Ah, ah, ah not so fast. I didn’t bring you here to play doctor. I need to ask you some questions.” 

Mega picked her up, almost crushing her waist, and she protested by kicking her legs. He threw her down on the dentist-style chair she’d spotted earlier. He strapped her legs and arms down. She could see, in a small round mirror above her head, that there were various silver tools behind the chair. She struggled desperately. 

“You are Doctor Caitlin Snow, bio-engineer of S.T.A.R. Labs, assistant of the Flash, correct?” 

“Half of that is on my Facebook, and the other half is made up,” she shrugged. 

“Confirm or deny, Dr Snow,” Mega warned. She could see his eyes wander to the tray of equipment. 

“Yes.” 

“Good, that’s much better. And this man is Cisco Ramon, mechanical engineer of S.T.A.R. Labs, assistant of the Flash?” 

“Yes,” repeated Caitlin through gritted teeth. Her eyes drifted to his unconscious form on the ground and she shuddered. 

“Last question. Who is the Flash?”

Caitlin paused. She knew the question was coming, and she knew she’d be putting Barry, his family plus herself and Cisco in serious danger if she gave in. She’d promised she wouldn’t reveal the Flash, or Vibe, or Killer Frost. 

“A masked superhero in Central City,” she answered. 

“Who’s behind the mask, Caitlin?” 

“I don’t know; he doesn’t take it off.” 

“So you’re telling me you don’t know who the Flash is, or what he looks like?” asked Mega. 

Caitlin shook her head. He gave a dramatic sigh and went to stand behind her. She twisted anxiously to see what he was doing. 

“I’ll try another tactic then. You see, a little birdie told me that you aren’t the only one who works with the Flash. I hear there’s a strong connection with the Flash and this mystery man of yours down the hall. What do you think would happen if he knows you’re in danger? Are you less important to him than the Flash?” 

She realised Mega had been talking to Force Field from an ear piece. He was gathering information on Barry. Would he be tortured to? Caitlin also realised that the reason they couldn’t hear anything from the other side of their prison room was that it was built to keep sound in. The thought of her cries echoing around the room made shrink in her chair. 

Before Caitlin could respond, Mega placed a speaker or microphone on a metal table beside the chair. Then, he reached for the tray.  
He had a syringe in his hands. The liquid was bright yellow, almost neon. It moved slowly in the syringe as Mega turned it from one side to the other like an hourglass. 

“This is a little something called penthol-lyconal. It’ll last in your system for about an hour, but you’ll probably pass out before then. Its job is for interrogation and has only been used on soldiers so far. It’ll give you a hell of a lot of pain, will probably feel like burns. Now, my mate thinks you’ll last five minutes before you crack. But I think your friend will crack first. Shall we find out?” 

He brought it down to her arm, and she let him. She knew from all of her patients’ complaining that it’d hurt more if she tried to free herself. She watched it flow into her veins, barely feeling the prick of the needle in her anticipation. The liquid had been completely forced into her body when Mega picked up the device beside Caitlin. 

Caitlin was beginning to feel something. It was like pins or something sharp was poking her skin from the inside. She felt as if something would stab through her skin from her bloodstream. 

“Did you get a name?” asked Mega. 

“Yeah. Barry Allen,” was Force Field’s response from what Caitlin imagined were speakers around the room. 

“Great. Now, Barry Allen. You might want to listen up. We have a trade for you, the Flash for your girl’s life,” said Mega. 

“What? Caitlin?” was Barry’s confused, and scared, response. 

Caitlin couldn’t reply. She watched her whole body shake and tremble. And then she felt it.


	4. Chapter 4

Caitlin forgot anyone was in the room with her. She’d forgotten anyone was listening. All she could focus on was the sharp ringing in her ears. It had started to bite, and she tried to reach up to them but couldn’t as her arms were forced down by restraints. 

The feeling moved along to her eyes, which started to burn as if she’d been staring into the sun. They itched unbearably and she squeezed them shut. Caitlin shuffled and whimpered. She noticed everyone had gone silent, and she realised they were waiting in anticipation to see what she’d do. 

The hero in her convinced her to stay quiet. She decided that she couldn’t be embarrassed or pitied or used if she didn’t make a noise. It was easier said than done while the pain had only begun to inch through her body. 

“How are you feeling, Dr Snow?” said Mega. 

She thought she heard shuffling from the other side of the speaker. Caitlin tried to respond but she found that her jaw felt wired shut. She couldn’t open her mouth, and she just parted her lips. Mega smirked at her when he saw she was starting to sweat. 

“Caitlin?”

She knew the voice was Barry’s, but it was distorted. It slurred as it reached her ears and sounded almost robotic. She tried to furrow her eyebrows, but her face wouldn’t move.  


Caitlin’s entire body started to shake. It felt like hot flushes that run across the entirety of her skin, itchy and burning. She let out a small noise, like a strangled sound, as the pain grew. 

She started to thrash, nearly knocking the tray beside her over and her hair tangled around her neck. Caitlin suddenly let out a terrifying scream, high pitched and more intense than she’d ever heard before. It kept going until her voice cracked, and then started up again a few moments later. She’d lost the sound of Barry’s shouts in amidst of her own screaming. 

At some point her noise had woken Cisco up. She heard him crawl over to her, shouting abuse at Mega, only to find himself thrown back against the wall. She knew he wouldn’t be rescuing her any time soon, and worried for the state of his head. 

Another scream ran out, but his time Mega but his hand over her mouth to muffle it. 

“God, that’s annoying. So the thing is; there’s an antidote. It acts fast, and can stop this in, well, about five minutes. I have it here and I’ll give it to you if Barry pipes up and gives us what we need.” 

Caitlin couldn’t focus on any more of the conversation. Her head lulled to the side and her breath came out raggedy and hoarse. She didn’t have the energy for screaming, but the pain was just as strong and painful as it had been before. She let out a frustrated cry, and a tear fell down her cheek, running down her neck. Mega wiped it off her neck, his hand lingering on her warm and sweating skin. `

“I-I can’t, I can’t,” it sounded like Barry was crying, sobbing even. 

Her eyes were starting to close, but they opened in interest when someone else’s voice burst over the speaker in their prison room. The person had sprinted into the room in a hurry. She couldn’t see the face, but she recognised the voice. 

“Mega, Force Field, are you listening to me?” said the Fader. 

Force Field, who had been standing beside the Fader, snapped a “Yes, obviously”. 

“What is it?” asked Mega. 

“You need to forget about the girl.” said the Fader. 

Mega held her face in his hands, roughly above her jaw, to make sure she was listening. 

“And why would I do that to our guest?” 

“Because,” said the Fader excitedly, “I know who the Flash is.” 

“Oh, good work. Who is he then?” said Mega.

“These geniuses tried to lock me up, as if I couldn’t escape. The second mistake was that the Flash unmasked himself to me before he came to rescue his friends.” 

“What are you saying?” said Force Field. 

“I think you know. Your Barry Allan is not who he says he is.” 

Mega looked down at Caitlin as she screamed against his hand. The sound was muffled but still loud enough. 

“I told you to stop torturing her, we’ve got more important things to plan,” said the Fader. 

“I suppose you’re right. Get Force Field and the Flash down here.” 

Caitlin had prayed that she’d feel the antidote in her body. She would’ve begged if she could’ve. Instead, Mega left her on the chair and walked over to Cisco. He was stirring, holding his head with his hand. His eyes bugged when he saw Caitlin limp in the chair. 

“I could’ve stopped this,” he whispered. 

“No, you couldn’t. Now, sit still for a moment,” Mega picked up some handcuffs and wrapped them around a metal pole that stuck out of one of the walls. Cisco wouldn’t have been able to get up anyway, judging by the state of him. 

Caitlin’s head was turning from one side to the other, as if she was stuck in a nightmare, but she stopped when she heard the latch undo and footsteps on the ladder. She moaned with the pain and the imminent threat, but when she opened her eyes she just saw Barry. 

His eye had already started to bruise, and there was another yellowing bruise on his cheek. Caitlin thought, through blurry vision, that she could see dried blood on his arm and neck, but his fast healing seemed to have handled the wounds. 

He walked over to Cisco, who’d fallen unconscious against the metal pole he’d been tied to. Barry called his name twice, but he only groaned in response. 

“He’ll be fine after an aspirin and some ice. For now, of course,” said Mega. 

“Good job with the lady over there, Mega, I’m almost impressed,” said the Fader. 

Mega wouldn’t let Barry near Caitlin. She looked drugged, her eyes flickering across the room. Her dreamy gaze found Barry, and she gave him a weak half smile. It faltered when she saw an angry, violent expression in his eyes. 

“What have you done?” he screamed, speeding over to Mega with his fist in front of him. Force Field shot a circle of energy around Mega, which Barry painfully bounced off. He crashed to the floor, with just enough time for the Fader to reach for another needle in the tray. 

Caitlin cried out in protest, but instead of finding it injected into her, it was injected into Barry. She squirmed at the thought of him having to go through the same torture.  


“What have you done to me?” Barry asked shakily. 

“Don’t worry; it’s not the same thing as your girl. It inhibits Meta powers. We was gonna use it on you later, but at least this way you can’t escape,” said Mega. 

Barry tested it out, but he moved as slow as everyone else in the room. He had handcuffs placed around his wrists, ones he’d normally escape easily, which were now incredibly effective. Cisco was sprawled out next to him, and Caitlin had stopped moving. 

“So, what do you want?” asked Barry. 

“God, you have so many questions. Our boss is part of an organisation. Vigilantes fetch a high price, and you’re top of the list,” said the Fader.

“So you want to sell me?” 

The Fader paused for a minute, “Well, it’s more like when you sell a cow to the slaughterhouse.”  


“Now, now, you can’t sell a cow to the slaughterhouse before you get the milk. Our boss is incredibly interested in your powers. If we could somehow get our scientists, or even your doctor lass, to replicate your powers, we’d make maybe triple the money. So, Barry Allan, what makes the Flash tick?” said Mega. 

“I don’t know how it works,” said Barry.

“I don’t think you understand that this isn’t negotiable. You’ll tell us how it works, and how you use your powers, and then we can let your friends go,” said Force Field. 

The one thing that had gone right for them is that none of them knew Cisco and Caitlin were Metas. He had to keep it that way. Both their injuries had seemed to cause problems with their powers, and Barry was guiltily grateful. He wondered how much worse they’d be if the three of them knew. 

“Do you understand how your powers work?” asked Barry. 

Mega brushed his hair back to reveal a long, wide scar on the side of his neck. Barry flinched when he saw it. 

“I got some Meta friends to find out for me. They dove deep into my head until they found out. If you don’t cooperate, I’ll ask them to do the same for you.” 

“I do forensic science, not biology! I don’t know,” Barry said. 

“We’ll, we know someone who does. Wake her up,” said Mega. 

Force Field strolled over to the chair, undoing the restraints. Caitlin didn’t make a single movement in retaliation. He slapped her face gently to try and wake her up. The Fader rolled her eyes, and picked up a glass of water from the other side of the room. She splashed it over Caitlin. 

Caitlin coughed and spluttered, her hands reaching up to her throat. She was still in a daze, and seemed to panic as if she was drowning. She bolted upright, still coughing hoarsely. 

“That did the trick, now come on love we have some work for you to do.” 

Caitlin narrowed her eyes at the Fader, confused, and leaned back onto the chair. 

“Not so fast. You have until Cisco wakes up, and then you’re coming to the lab,” said Mega, grabbing her arms and lifting her onto the floor next to the boys. She was handcuffed too, but didn’t put up any fight. 

They left them there, disappearing up the ladder again. Barry tried one more time to flash his way out of the handcuffs, but he couldn’t. 

Caitlin was shivering, her body still dripping from the freezing water. Her pupils were dilated and her breathing was heavy as she stared blankly at the wall. 

“Caitlin? Are you alright?” he asked. 

“I think it’s worn off,” she breathed. 

“Thank God. How do you feel?” 

“Scared,” she whispered. 

“Someone will come for us; Joe, or Harry, or Iris. We’ll be okay, I promise.” 

Caitlin didn’t listen to him; her eyes fell onto Cisco instead. 

“Have you checked on him?” asked Caitlin. 

“He’s breathing but he’s been hit on the head a lot.” 

Caitlin reached over to him and checked him over for cuts or wounds. He was mostly free from blood, except for his head. She had wiped the blood from his nose and turned him slightly so his head wound didn’t press against the pole. 

“He’s not waking up,” said Caitlin. 

“Don’t rush him. You both need to rest. Just promise me you’ll do what they say, and you won’t get hurt anymore. I’ll protect you as much as I can, but you can’t start any fights. I know you can if you want to,” Barry said. 

Caitlin smiled sadly, “I promise I’ll come back to you.” 

Cisco began to stir. He groaned loudly and Caitlin flinched, knowing he’d be heard from the speakers in the room. He twisted so he faced his friends, and gingerly opened his eyes. 

“Was I hit by a truck or a plane? I can’t really tell.” 

“It looks like a bit of both honestly mate,” said Barry. 

“Cisco, are you okay?” asked Caitlin. 

“I’m fine, what about you? I was really worried about you back there,” said Cisco, looking Caitlin up and down. 

“Yeah, I’m okay.” 

“I’m glad you’re all recovering nicely. If we’d killed you all on the first day I’d honestly be so embarrassed. Right, we’ve brought some extra friends. James, you escort the lovely Caitlin upstairs. Harvey, you grab dear Cisco over there. Hurry up.” 

Mega leaned in the doorway at the foot of the ladder, watching the three friends panic. Cisco and Caitlin were brought upstairs once they were unchained, and Barry heard clattering from above him. 

“We have some Metas living here who are pretty scientifically handy, but not even close to your friends. The team of them should come up with something. Though, they’re going to need some samples to look at.” 

Mega lifted Barry with almost no effort needed; placing him into the chair Caitlin had been sat on. The fabric on the side of the chair had been scratched up by her nails, and there were a few dots of blood on it. 

He was tied down, and Mega picked up the tray of tools from beside Barry, wiping the needle he had used on Caitlin clean. 

“This won’t hurt much, hold still,” said Mega as he brought up a needle to Barry’s arm. He hadn’t been an expert, but he had sat with Caitlin enough times to remember that she took many more precautions than Mega did. He shuddered at the thought of the needle. He could feel it press coldly into his arm, and then another one in the side of his neck. He squirmed. 

They took a bit of skin, a few hairs, some blood, and by the end of the ordeal Barry just let his head roll to the side, wondering whether or not he’d be able to run free and find the others before he caused any trouble. Why had no one come to get them? Was a room full of Metas only stoppable with the help of the Flash? He felt more useless than ever. He, Caitlin and Cisco would need a plan. 

“Boss?” some slender woman appeared at the top of the latch, leaning down to see him. 

“What is it?” he asked impatiently.

“There’s been some trouble.” 

Barry watched Mega swear and throw his fist onto the table before disappearing up the ladder with the woman, leaving Barry enough time to figure out the first step to escaping.


	5. Chapter 5

“If you don’t,” seethed Harvey, “get your ass over here in the next second you won’t have two feet to stand like a lemon on.” 

Cisco floundered on his feet, as if he was trying to walk but couldn’t, and kept a sheepish grimace on his face when Harvey tapped his foot expectantly. 

“It’s not that I don’t want to, I just have this feeling you want to hurt me. I don’t know though, you’re sweet words are swaying me.” 

“Cisco,” warned Caitlin from where she stood beside Harvey, too frightened of the treatment she’d already endured to resist them. 

“Fine, we’ll just take this one,” said James, his arms on Caitlin’s waist. She froze, but let out an involuntary squeak that only made James crooked grin widen. 

Cisco put his hands up in immediate surrender and jogged over to Harvey. As he skidded to a stop, Harvey raised his hand behind his head and brought it down into a sickening back-handed slap. Caitlin jumped but was kept grounded by James. 

“Jesus boys, did I not tell you that you could beat them after they’ve done their work? Can you seriously not wait a few hours?” 

The Fader appeared at the door, with another woman by her side. She was just as elegant as the Fader, and just as tall, though her stilettos may have something to do with that. Her dark hair fell to her stomach and her dark eyes lazily watched Cisco clutch his face. 

“Kids, this is Crisis. She’s better known as the former doctor Patel, however now she’s actually putting her powers to use. You’ll need her to decode the Flash, but she can melt your skin with a touch if you step out of line,” said the Fader. 

“Sheesh,” whispered Cisco, turning to Caitlin worriedly. 

“I’ll leave you in the doctor’s capable hands, with James and Harvey in case you two try something stupid,” said the Fader before she danced out of the room with a flick of her bright hair. 

Crisis pulled gloves onto her slender hands, stretching them up to her elbows. She flicked her wrist at James and Harvey, who begrudgingly took seats in the corner of the room. Caitlin wondered what the hierarchy of the residents was, and how many of them there were. She decided that the Fader, Mega and possibly Force Field, along with the doctors/scientists that had been mentioned were the Boss’s henchmen. She wondered how many criminals, villains and soldiers they had working beneath them. 

“Miss Snow, I take it you’ll be able to make use of the samples we’ve taken?” asked Crisis, gesturing to a workspace very similar to her own back at S.T.A.R Labs. 

“Doctor,” Cisco huffed. 

“What do you mean samples?” asked Caitlin as she jogged over to where they were laid out and labelled on a desk. 

“You just…conducted invasive, unethical tests on him, all at once? What were you thinking! Any one of these could’ve sent him into shock, especially without the right precautions which I doubt you took what the hell were you thinking!” Caitlin put her hands shakily on her hips as her eyes saw red. She picked up a tube with what looked like a part of a bone, and a fingernail, and she threw it to the ground in a fit of anger. 

Her outburst was cut short by Crisis. Her expression, as mapped by Cisco, had become increasingly impatient and frustrated as Caitlin continued her rampage. Before she could reach for another vial, Crisis’s eyes burned a deep black and she held out her palm eye-level with Caitlin. She stopped shouting immediately. 

“Oh do stop acting like a child. But I suppose a child needs punishment.” 

Her hand folded as if she were holding something invisible, and looked like a claw in front of Caitlin’s worried face. Caitlin’s face tightened and strained. Cisco watched in macabre fascination until blood began to pour from her nose and down onto her lips. It trickled down onto her clothes, leaving a trail of darkening blood from her neck to her shirt collar. She cried out in pain, and Crisis straightened. She brought her hand down, but the blood didn’t stop running. 

“Miss Snow, I expect a full analysis of Barry Allen’s abilities, and any anomalies in his DNA results. And clean up the mess you’ve made, with Barry’s belongings and your blood. Mr Ramon, there’s a machine over there we’re using to isolate and interweave Meta genetics. Why don’t you see if you can get it to work once Snow has finished up?” 

Caitlin and Cisco both nodded at her, and once satisfied Crisis left the room, already yelling at someone who was on the other side.  
Cisco rushed over to Caitlin and offered his sleeve to help with the blood. She laughed nervously and used it to stop the blood from running. She used her hands to try and get rid of the blood from her skin, but it barely smudged. 

“What the hell did she even do to you Cait?” asked Cisco. 

“Honestly, I don’t know. I just felt heat, and it felt like something cracked in my head. Yikes, looks like her power is just pain.” 

“It doesn’t work like that Cait, but I’d rather not figure out what she can do, considering what we’ve seen. I can’t believe these scumbags already named her though; I could’ve come up with some great ones. Poison Touch, Concusser, Doctor Pain…” 

“Yes, brilliant. Now what do we do about Whatever-her-name-is?” 

“I suppose we have to do what she says. No way is that happening to you again.” 

Caitlin nodded weakly and Cisco walked her over to the makeshift laboratory. 

“Everything is so much older than what I’m used to, what am I meant to do with it? They’re asking for revolutionary results, I couldn’t even do this at S.T.A.R Labs,” Caitlin groaned loudly. 

“Shush, don’t aggravate them. Just give them something, okay? One little discovery will distract them for a while. Just…find out where his powers came from, we were half-way there back at the labs anyway,” answered Cisco. 

Caitlin nodded and busied herself with various test tubes, familiarising herself with what she had to work with. Cisco left her alone and went to investigate the machines that were left for him. He’d seen some of them before, and others he wasn’t even sure what they did. 

The blood unnerved Caitlin. She found traces of Barry’s blood on every item Crisis had left her. She wondered if Barry had put up a fight, and had gotten himself even more hurt than if he’d stayed still. He’d never liked letting her do tests on him, and often ended up in pain as he fidgeted. 

Everything she had of his tested as human, with a genetic mutation identified by scientists before her as a Meta gene. Hers was the same, as was Cisco’s. She tried to trace back how the mutation formed, but she’d need access to Barry’s DNA before the mutation. 

“Have you found anything interesting?” asked Cisco. 

Caitlin screwed her nose and bit her lip, “Not really, but I’ve been thinking.” 

Cisco nodded to her, encouraging her to go on. He checked that neither James nor Harvey was bothered with them, but they were engaged in their own quiet conversations. 

“They’re selling Metas, we know that. They have Metas here too, but they seem to have important or dangerous powers. I’m assuming from these tests that they’ve found a way to trade powers, or even add to their own. The only way I could think of this working would be using embryos, but they’re doing this on grown Metas. I don’t know how, but I think we should be scared,” said Caitlin, looking at Cisco with wide, watering eyes. 

“If they’ve already done it, why do they need us?”

“I think something went wrong. Maybe some sort of mutation or problem caused by the transfer. I suppose they want to know if we can do it differently.” 

“And do you think we can?” 

“I’m not too sure, Cisco.” 

He stayed quiet for a moment.

“Enough talking! Don’t make me bring Crisis back in,” barked Harvey. 

Caitlin leaned onto the desk, trying to focus on the investigations she had been trying to conduct. She didn’t have enough information to pass on, but she hoped she had enough to lie. 

She remembered working at the labs in her schools, and how tired her legs would get as she tried to make sense of the problem in front of her. But that was a lot easier to make sense of. Simple problems with simple solutions; and this one was neither. 

“Hello darlings, Crisis said you may have something for me?” said Fader as she waltzed through the door. James and Harvey leapt to their feet, absent-minded expressions now focused on their prisoners. 

“Snow? Cat got your tongue?” she asked. 

Caitlin cleared her throat, “I couldn’t find everything you want, but I have an idea of how to do it.” 

“Interesting, go on.” 

“There’s a specific element to Metas, it’s not something that’s grown or moved. It’s become a part of the humans, like an organ or bone. If you could find it, theoretically you could transplant it, like a heart or lung. But you can’t transfer it to humans, my hypothesis is that you can replace it in another Meta, or you can add it on,” said Caitlin. 

“Very good work my dear. Now Cisco, what have you found?”

“Well, I was looking at this machine here, and it’s used to test for the Meta gene. If you can get it to work, then you’ll be able to scan for the gene and where it is.” 

“That’ll be a lot safer than what we’ve been doing. Snow, is it likely the gene is in the head?” 

“No, the way it operates, it’d say somewhere in the nervous system, below the neck.” 

“You two have been so helpful,” gushed the Fader, “so I’m going to insist you go back to the Flash in one piece. Here that, James and Harvey, I’m calling you off for today. Now escort them back, you can have fun later.” 

Caitlin felt all the blood rush to her head. If she didn’t have the Metas’ arms on her, she would have stumbled. She couldn’t fathom how fatal for them it would be if they got that machine working. It would be too easy to identify both of them. 

“Get down the ladder now, asshole,” James practically pushed Cisco down the hatch, and he just about managed to cling to the rungs. Caitlin managed to climb down more gracefully, but Harvey stomped on her hand with his boot to hurry her up. She whimpered, but moved faster. 

Barry was sat back by the wall, tied up in handcuffs. He was shaking, probably cold, and had small amounts of dried blood on him. 

Caitlin didn’t argue when she was handcuffed, as she was grateful to get off her exhausted feet. They’d been working for hours, and the lack of sleep had begun to bother her. She had no idea what time it was, but it definitely felt late. 

“Is everyone okay?” asked Barry when the room fell silent. 

“Just peachy,” grumbled Cisco as he tugged on his wrists. 

Caitlin didn’t reply, she just murmured under her breath and rested her head on the wall behind her. She reached up to rub her eyes, but groaned in frustration when the metal clanked together and the restraints forced her hand back down. When it was raised, Barry saw a smear of blood on the back of it, as if she’d wiped it from somewhere. Barry resisted asking where the blood had come from, because, no matter how selfish it may be, he didn’t want to know if she’d been hurt. 

“Guys,” breathed Barry, “I overheard something while you were gone.” 

Caitlin was already slumped half asleep when Barry started talking, but Cisco shuffled forward with interest. 

“Is it bad news or good news?” he asked. Barry shook his head with a wince. 

“Right, come on then, one more slap in the face won’t hurt.” 

“Apparently they’d been seeing people outside, people talking on radios and making notes. My guess would be Joe and Harry. They said they spotted a young woman too, so I guess Iris tagged along too. Thing is, if they’d been caught they would’ve been brought in here or,” Barry shivered, “something worse. But they haven’t.” 

“You sound a bit paranoid, the Metas just probably didn’t want three more people to deal with.” 

“No, no Cisco you don’t get it. He erased their memories of us; somehow they managed to manipulate powers that pinpoint the memory of individuals. He said their boss did it, after dissecting the powers of one of the Metas they sold. No one’s coming to save us, and they’re going to take all of our powers.” 

“So none of our friends remember us?” Cisco sighed. 

“Not according to Mega.” 

Cisco slumped against the wall, and Barry thought he heard him sniffle. He hugged his knees to his chest, as much as he could with the handcuffs on his wrists and ankles. 

“Caitlin said they’d be able to pull off something like that.” Cisco said. 

He added, “So I guess we’re on our own then?” 

“Neither of you should be here man,” said Barry as he looked down at Caitlin, who had fallen asleep a while ago. 

“She’s a tough girl Barry, and so am I, so are you for that matter. We’ll be okay.” 

“Us girls have to stick together, right?” Barry laughed sadly.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi lovelies! Thank you so much for reading, I'm sorry it's been taking a while, but I should be back on track now. Please leave comments and kudos, it honestly helps me write so much! Enjoy this one, and let me know what else you'd like to see (more ship moments? who'd you like to see hurt?) x

Somehow, despite being left alone at night, it was harder than the day. Caitlin couldn’t sleep on the cold concrete floor, with metal digging into her body. It didn’t matter how tired she was, as all night she found herself observing the bruised faces of Barry and Cisco beside her. 

She’d caught them both, on separate occasions, doing the same to her when she’d finally been able to fall asleep. Caitlin would slowly open her eyes to find one of them watching her with concerned frowns. Normally, she’d slap them for pitying her, but she wouldn’t have the energy if she tried. 

When she woke up, sometime very early morning, she found Cisco’s hoodie draped over her. The nerd cartoon on the front was stained with blood, but it was still much cosier than what she was wearing. She had removed her heels ages ago, but all she’d worn is a mini skirt, tights and a blouse. She cursed the boys for only wearing hoodies and jeans. 

“You awake?” whispered Cisco. He claimed he’d found a comfortable position, but he was twisted and folded in a way that was almost comical. Caitlin turned to face him. 

“Yeah...you sleep alright?” 

Cisco shrugged, “Wasn’t the worst night sleep I’ve ever had, honestly. I’m definitely sleeping better than you, you look exhausted.” 

“Oh yeah, thanks,” chuckled Caitlin. 

Suddenly, the bright harsh lights above them switched on, and they threw their hands over their eyes in pain. Barry was pulled from sleep as the light hit his eyes and he grumbled. 

“What’s that?” he asked, half-asleep. 

“Sorry we didn’t let you lie in, sounds like you need it princess,” said Mega, crouching down in front of Caitlin. She bolted upright when he caressed her cheek. 

“I’m fine,” said Caitlin through gritted teeth. 

“We’ll see,” smiled Mega. He stroked her messy hair and grabbed a strand of it. He curled it around his finger, but wasn’t satisfied with her stony expression, so he pulled it. She gasped, and Mega let go smugly. 

“Hey man, leave her alone,” said Barry. His face was stern but he was clearly holding back his anger. 

“Sorry Flash no can do. You see, thanks to Caitlin and Cisco’s assistance, our scientists think they can get what they need without them. And since they are gonna be no use on the Meta market, we figured we’d have some fun,” said Mega. 

“What do you mean,” said Barry in a low, hoarse voice. 

“You need to be kept alive, they don’t. I and a few other Metas have wanted revenge on the three of you since you started causing trouble. Turns out, a lot of these guys have had run-ins with your team. I’m not gonna let them all have a stab, of course, but I thought I could do it for the team.” 

Caitlin couldn’t quite hold back a whimper as Mega breathed down her neck. He laughed throatily. 

“Barry, you may remember this guy. Come on in, Ethan,” Mega beckoned someone in. The man was very tall and lithe, with a scraggly dark beard. He smiled at Barry, and his eyes turned an alien green. 

“Woah, dude, I think that’s-”

Cisco was cut off by Mega, “Yes, this is Kinesis. You encountered him once before, and got him locked up. He lost his wife, kids and job, because you lot wanted to play hero. Now, he tells me he went for a certain little lady when he was captured, and boy did that piss the Flash off. So, I think he should start with her.” 

Barry and Cisco struggled in their restraints as Kinesis raised his hands and the cuffs on Caitlin’s wrists unlocked. She stood up and momentarily made eye contact with Barry. He shook his head but she ignored him. She lunged for the scalpel on the tray beside the chair she’d been strapped to, and went to stab Kinesis. 

He held up his hand and it flew out of her hand. He looked almost bored as he flicked his wrist and sent her barrelling into the wall. Barry called out her name but she barely heard him as she lay, stunned. She felt the back of her head dampened by what she thought was blood, which was confirmed when she was dragged to her feet by Mega, a bloodstain on the wall where her head had been. 

“Now, now, play nice for the visitor. I’ll be back soon, to check whether you’re breathing or not,” Said Mega. 

Without moving her feet, Caitlin was brought right in front of Kinesis’s glowing eyes. She gulped as he put the handcuffs on her wrists behind her back, but stood her on the other side of the room to the others. 

“I like to give my customers a choice. I said, hey boss man, what would you like me to do to her? I offered up electricity, water, knives, and he just said surprise him. So that’s what I’m going to do,” said Kinesis. 

When the room fell silent, all apart from Caitlin’s heavy breathing, Kinesis laughed deeply. 

“Now, don’t get like that. We’ll have some fun, okay! First of all, I want to test your resilience,” Kinesis didn’t elaborate, but he beckoned a trough of water over to them. It flew through the air, and some of the water splashed her feet before it landed in front of her. It was freezing, almost unbearably cold, and Caitlin withdrew a breath. 

“On your knees, Doctor.” 

The pleasure Kinesis clearly had was unnerving to everyone in the room. He licked his lips as Caitlin knelt shakily in front of the water. He placed his hands on her shoulders, massaging them as she fought to squirm away. 

“This shouldn’t be painful, but it will weaken you. You know what it’s like, chasing your prey down, wearing them out until you can strike? It’s all in the power imbalance, really.” 

He forced her more towards the water, and the cold water brushed her nose. 

“Please, please don’t do this Ethan,” said Barry. Caitlin couldn’t see him, but she could hear the desperation in his voice. It only encouraged Kinesis further. 

His grip tightened on her shoulders, even though she was sure he didn’t need physical force to push her into the water. His nails dug into her skin and he moved one hand from her shoulder to her head. He pressed down on the back of her head until her nose was submerged, and then with one powerful push he shoved her head under the water. 

She could vaguely hear shouting from Barry and Cisco above her, but the water muffled them. She thrashed and gasped at the shock of the freezing water, her whole body already trembling. Caitlin had inhaled water, and the way it crept down her throat made her want to vomit. 

It was almost a minute before he dragged her back out of the water. He threw her backwards and she clutched the wet floor desperately, coughing and spluttering. She heaved, trying desperately to rid her body of the cold. Her hearing came back a little while after. 

“-absolute monster! You’re going to regret ever touching a hair on her head!” 

Barry, she thought. She looked up at him through stinging, mascara smudged eyes, trying to give him some comfort. He was barely able to make eye contact with her. 

“How was that?” asked Kinesis. 

“It had been a while since I’d had a bath,” mused Caitlin through chattering teeth. 

“Oh, you’re still feisty. There’s only one way to distinguish that,” tutted Kinesis. 

Without hesitation, her head was once again forced under the water. She kept her mouth closed this time, squeezing her lips tightly shut, trying to keep the water out. She struggled to breathe and felt her feet kicking against the floor. He left her under until she stopped fighting back, and then pulled her onto the floor. 

She didn’t cough manically this time; she just breathed laboured breaths, resting her face gratefully on the floor. It was cold, but it was still a lot warmer than the water she’d been under. 

“You son of a bitch!” cried Cisco. 

Kinesis lifted Caitlin off the ground without touching her, her feet just off the ground. He grabbed her by the jaw and moved her face from one side to the other. Once satisfied she was too tired to fight back, he let her drop to the ground. 

“You boys thought that was the worst bit? You’re all pathetic,” he sighed. 

Caitlin walked, half-dragged, to a pipe on the side of the room opposite to the others and was hand-cuffed there. Kinesis crouched down beside her.   
He summoned a familiar tray of tools to his side. It lacked the scalpel, but still had knives, needles and other devices laid neatly on it. 

“Eenie, meenie, miney mo…” he mumbled to himself. 

He brushed his finger over one of the smaller, sharper knives and smiled. It was sickening, and Caitlin’s heart skipped several beats. 

“You know, I think I may have an idea. I was put in prison for 10 years. How does a cut for every year I was put away sound? Maybe a few bonuses for the family you stole from me,” said Kinesis. 

“Don’t you dare Ethan! You can have me, okay? I’m right here. Let her go, and Cisco, and you can do whatever you want to me.” 

“Nice offer, Flash, but I have orders not to touch you. The opposite applies to your friend.” 

“Please. I’m begging you,” said Barry. 

Caitlin could’ve been wrong, but she swore she saw him crying. 

“Enough!” boomed Kinesis, “I’ve had enough of this. You both better watch this. If either one of you miss a cut, I’ll be forced to do it again.” 

He picked up the knife and brushed it to her face. It was angled so it didn’t cut her, but she whimpered anyway. He cut her cheek, shallow enough to not scar but deep enough to make her bite her lip until it bled. A thin trickle of blood streaked her cheek like a tear. 

He then positioned the knife to her collarbone, and dragged it across to the base of her neck. This time she cried out and tried to run. He shushed her, and dug it in deeper.   
Her vision blurred slightly, and she could hear faint shouting from the boys across from her. She heard the clanking of metal handcuffs and the scuff of feet. 

The next cut was on her stomach. It was deeper than the other two, and made her drop her façade. She sobbed uncontrollably, and pleaded for him to stop. Cisco was screaming and sobbing too, and she could just about see blood on his wrists from where the metal had rubbed from movement. 

“Shut up! Now, year 4 was a particularly bad one for me. I got beat up a hell of a lot. Only far to match that,” said Kinesis. 

She wasn’t sure what was happening, but the intense screams from Cisco and Barry told her it wasn’t good. They fought, desperate to free themselves, as Kinesis plunged the knife deep into her stomach. Caitlin had only felt a pain like it once, she recalled, but somehow it was so much worse this time. She couldn’t clutch her stomach, so she was forced to watch the blood flow freely down her body. 

Her words caught in her throat, there with the blood in her mouth, and her head lolled to the side. At some point, Mega and the Fader had walked in. She heard them laugh at her, and complain about the mess she’d made. 

“You’ve killed one already? God, the pretty one too,” sighed Mega. 

Her eyes fluttered closed, but she felt different. Her body was as cold as it had been when she’d been submerged into water, but she didn’t feel the pain. It was almost numbed, completely gone. She figured that’s what happens when you die. 

The tingle came to her fingertips first. It spread to her body, like a shiver, and she felt it in her wound. She realised in awe that a gust of cold, icy air had moved over her stomach wound and stitched it back up. The other wounds stayed, but her life was spared. If she’d had the energy, she’d roll her eyes at her alter ego. She liked her enough to keep her alive, but Killer Frost didn’t mind watching her suffer a little. Caitlin looked up, and realised in the reflection of the water trough that her eyes were an ice white. Her hair was hued with white, too. Killer Frost had saved her from dying, but she’d just given her a lot more trouble. 

Everyone was looking at her as she healed herself. Barry and Cisco looked incredibly relieved, but also like they’d seen a ghost. Cisco was scarily pale as he looked into her eyes. They knew how much danger she’d be in now. 

The handcuffs holding her back were engulfed in ice, and they shattered like glass onto the ground. The room was engulfed in snowy fog as Caitlin dropped to the ground like a ragdoll.


	7. Chapter 7

For a brief moment, the room was engulfed in thick white snow and fog, making Cisco’s vision as blurred as it had been when he’d been concussed. It lifted quickly though, like it was only ever a projection. 

The Fader and Mega were standing over Caitlin’s lifeless body. He knew she was alive, he could see the gentle rise and fall of her chest, but the sickening amount of blood on and around her made him doubt that she’d wake up. Her white hair spread out around her head, framing her pained face. Her blue lips were pursed and trembling. 

“Is she okay?” Cisco asked Barry, as if he’d know any more than him. 

Barry didn’t acknowledge Cisco; he just stared at the back of Caitlin’s head, willing her to move. Eventually, her body began to twitch, and she rolled onto her side. It took her a long time to open her heavy eyelids, and when they did flutter open they couldn’t focus on anything but the ground. 

She stayed where she lay on the ground until the Fader forced her upright. She was breathing heavily, and still wincing in pain, but the stab wound had completely healed, aside from the dried blood around it. 

The Fader poked where the stab wound had been, and Caitlin flinched as if it were still there. But there was no pain beyond the poke, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Her breath was visible as if it had been in in cold, winter air. The Fader raised an arched eyebrow. 

“Risen from the dead, did not see that coming,” she shrugged. 

“You lied to us, you all lied to us. Mr Allen, why wouldn’t you tell us that your girlfriend is a Meta too?” 

Barry shuffled uncomfortably, but he didn’t answer. 

“Force Field?” asked Mega over the comms. 

“What?” he responded, his voice echoing through the room. 

“Look up a Meta in Central City. Ice powers, frosty, whatever you can find.” 

“Yeah, I’ve got something. Caused some trouble a while back with the police, some kidnapping, burglary and fighting. Picture looks a lot like her, with some wild white hair instead. News is calling her Killer Frost,” said Force Field. 

Everyone in the room exchanged glances. 

“Now, her I have heard of. Killer Frost has some impressive powers, and she’s a wanted criminal. Would fetch a high price, but I’m sure there’s also a reward for bringing her in. Decisions, decisions,” said Mega. 

She looked at Barry in fright. Caitlin knew the efforts he had gone to, in order to stop her from being arrested. Even Joe had wanted her brought in once, though he’d never admit it now, but Barry stood firmly against it. He hated even leaving her in the pipe line. 

“Hold still,” grumbled Kinesis, as he brought a needle to himself. The liquid looked familiar, and Caitlin squirmed when he gripped her arm. He injected it into her, and she bit her lip, feeling the rush of cold in her veins. She saw in her reflection that her hair had become dark brunette once again, and her eyes became their familiar warm brown. 

“That should do it. Inject the human too, just in case.” 

Cisco squirmed, and as his part-time self-proclaimed doctor, Caitlin knew how much he hated needles. She’d had to give him a shot once after an accident with some lab-rats, and it had taken them about an hour. Barry, Iris and Joe had all suggested just knocking him out, but in the end he passed out himself. 

He was clearly trying to put on a brave face, as he screwed up his face and turned away from Kinesis. He groaned until the needle was removed, but still refused to look at the tiny drop of blood on his skin. 

“Wait,” came Force Field’s booming voice, “I thought Killer Frost rang more than just a bell. You remember Amunet, the boss’s old partner? She told us about her ages ago. The different Meta, she said, Killer Frost wasn’t a problem caused by the particle accelerator. She had powers before it. How much do you think we’d get for selling a vigilante, and a born-Meta?” 

“Oh, you’re good. Get in contact with the boss after we’ve run some tests. The sooner we ship them out the better,” said the Fader. 

“Alright, and what do we do about their friend?” 

“Keep him in the labs; see what he can do with the technology. Assign him to someone upstairs. If they decide he becomes…unhelpful, authorise them to kill him.” 

“No, Cisco!” 

Mega took Cisco away upstairs, his grip so tight Caitlin winced just looking at it, and locked the hatch behind them. 

“You two are the lucky ones, I guess. Once your samples are processed, you’ll be given to the boss. Sold, presumably, or given to the police whichever gives us more cash,” said the Fader. 

“What are we being sold for?” croaked Caitlin. 

“Oh, that depends on the customer. Some sell Metas to labs around the world for experiments, some to governments to be used as weapons, and others? Sold to the rich to deal with a grudge they may hold. I’m sure there’s plenty of that against both of you,” said the Fader. 

“Alright sweetheart, you know the drill,” said Kinesis as he lifted her into the dreaded chair from before. She struggled against him and tried so desperately to make Killer Frost appear. The injection had weakened the alter ego, and she was trapped. 

“We just need to do standard testing, Doctor, I’m sure you know,” he said. 

“I can’t trust you even know how to do a blood test right,” scoffed Caitlin. 

Kinesis backhanded her violently, and she yelped. Barry called out, but Kinesis slapped him just as hard, arguably even harder, once he had finished with Caitlin. She called out for him, but he mouthed to her to tell her he was okay. 

“One for you, one for him, that’s how it’s going to work. Now, will you sit still and close that pretty mouth?” asked Kinesis. She nodded with a glare. 

She could handle the blood test, the ripping out of individual hairs, the scrapping of skin and the cotton swabs. She felt violated, but they weren’t things she hadn’t done to herself, when she’d first discovered she was a Meta. Caitlin winced when he dug the scalpel into one of the cuts he’d made earlier, but she supposed she should be grateful he cut her fingernail instead of ripping it off. She hadn’t been so lucky with her teeth, though. 

Barry had tried in every way he could think of to save her when he brought the clamp to her mouth. Kinesis pulled out one of her back teeth and she screamed, only to be muffled by his hand in her mouth. He wrestled with the handcuffs until his wrists were coated in blood, almost wearing his wrists down to the bone. 

He shouted, cursed and cried as Kinesis wiped away her mouthful of blood with a smirk. It dribbled slowly down her chin. 

“That wasn’t so bad was it? That’s all we needed,” Kinesis shrugged as he collected all the samples. He handed them over to the Fader, who thanked him and then disappeared. 

“It’s a shame you aren’t up there to help, would’ve had results in seconds. Maybe your Cisco can be a replacement,” Kinesis mused absent-mindedly. He released her from the chair and hand-cuffed her next to Barry, where Cisco had once sat. 

Barry reached up to wipe away some of the blood on her lips and chin. She blushed and turned to face him. 

“I bet I look like such a mess right now,” she laughed nervously. 

“Still beautiful,” commented Barry. 

“I-I don’t know how I’ll do if we get separated. If we get sold…and Cisco’s still here…I don’t think I’m gonna be strong enough,” confessed Caitlin. 

He cupped her cheeks and she leaned into his touch. 

“Listen Cait, I don’t know much about what’s going to happen to us. I don’t know if we’re gonna get saved. But I do know you’re one of the strongest people I know, with or without your powers. I promise, whatever happens, you’ll survive.” 

“We all will,” whispered Caitlin. 

She collapsed onto his lap and nestled into him. She frowned at the thought of getting blood on his clothes, but figured it was probably too late. She felt his hand stroking her hair and she smiled. She wasn’t sure when she’d fallen asleep, but when she’d woken up Barry’s hands were still playing with her hair. Caitlin hoped he’d managed to get some sleep too. 

“I’m so sorry I got you into all this mess,” Barry sighed when he saw she was awake. 

“I think you’ll find we got you into this mess. You woke up in our lab, remember?” 

Barry laughed softly, “Still, it’s not like you got as hurt when you were just working with HR.” 

“Oh yeah and that turned out just great. Seriously though, I wouldn’t go back even if I could. We chose to work with you; we got lucky that all this happened. Not unlucky.” Caitlin smiled gently, and she felt Barry relax. 

When she heard footsteps, she’d subconsciously buried further into his lap. She was tired, and scared, and she was less concerned with hiding it now. 

“Alright lovebirds, time to separate,” said the Fader as she appeared into the room. She had an old camera in her hands. 

She pulled Barry to his feet and took photos of him from each angle, like a mugshot. Then, she did the same to Caitlin, who flinched as the flash hurt her eyes. 

“Just need to send these ahead to the boss. He’ll know who he’s expecting, at least. We’ve already dealt with your samples. Kidnap a few scientists maybe, or figure it out ourselves and we’ll be able to figure out how to use you both. If we can raise compliant Metas, or properly transfer powers, then we’ll be making more money than we’d ever imagined. But for now the two of you, parents of this new idea, we have to say goodbye,” said the Fader. 

She leaned into Barry’s ear, close enough it made Caitlin stiffen, and whispered, “Thank you for making us rich.” 

The Fader called someone down, and Caitlin recognised her as one of the people from earlier. Harvey had someone else behind him; Cisco. His face was bruised, and it looked like his nose had been punched. Caitlin tried to make eye contact with him, but he avoided her and Barry’s gaze. 

“Now Cisco, you know what to do,” said Harvey. 

“I can’t,” he mumbled. 

“Don’t make me repeat myself. I don’t give warnings twice, and you had yours upstairs.” 

Harvey dug around in his pocket, and handed a box to Cisco. Inside, there was a cloth that smelled so strong it made her gag. She recognised the smell from however long ago. 

“I don’t want to do this,” he said to Barry, who just nodded kindly at him. 

“It’s okay Cisco.” 

Cisco placed the cloth as gently as he could over Barry’s mouth. He held it there until Barry’s legs wobbled. Then he walked over to Caitlin. He kissed her lightly on the forehead, and she buried her face into his chest. Then, comforted, he placed the cloth over her mouth. She breathed it in; she couldn’t help it, and coughed. 

“Take them upstairs, there’s a van waiting around the back. The boss suggested cages he’d used on other powerful Metas, they’re in the boot. Hurry up, they won’t be able to walk straight for much longer,” said the Fader. 

Caitlin was already starting to feel funny. Her legs and arms were tingling, and she didn’t feel as though she was walking when Harvey guided her up to the first floor of the house. She saw Barry lean heavily on a wall, and remembered he was lacking his usual fast metabolism. 

“You guys will be fine,” the Fader was saying, “and we’ll take great care of little Cisco. Will maybe even be able to make him into a Meta, now how about that?” 

They both ignored her. The back of the house opened up onto an isolated road, where a sleek black van was waiting. She’d been hoping there would be someone outside, some passer-by she’d be able to call over and save them. But the alleyway was blocked up and they were all alone. 

Caitlin didn’t know what she’d expected, but the cages were like those made for large dogs, but made with the same materials of those back in their own pipeline. She sighed, feeling like more of an animal than she had before. They were bolted to the floor of the van, side by side. They were both locked up without another word, thrown into the cages like captured prey. Caitlin’s senses failed her shortly after, but she felt the rumbling vibration of the van driving away.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick break from the angst and the torture, thought someone deserved it! Already working on the next chapter, so you won't have to wait long x

The doors into the precinct were thrown open forcefully, and the thud rang out through the room. The person on the other side cringed and whipped around angrily. 

“Iris,” they sighed, “I understand that your new job is stressful, but can you please go easy on those doors. There isn’t anything set aside in the budget for your lack of manners.” 

“Sorry, dad,” Iris shrugged sheepishly, throwing her jacket over an abandoned chair in the corner. 

“It’s fine. How did your first day go?” 

“It actually wasn’t too bad. Though, they don’t want to give me any good stories. They say I need to have connections, but it’s not like there’s a flying man I can follow around.” 

“Hey, I know the city’s pretty tame but your dad is a cop, remember?” said Joe. 

Iris scoffed, “Yeah, but it’s not like you’ll let me steal a murder case for a newspaper is it?” 

“Yeah honey, you’re right there.” 

Iris perked up, “Oh, the strangest thing happened to me though. This man came and threw himself at me when I left the office, hair all over the place, and he definitely sounded like he’d had too much coffee. He was shouting about something not feeling right, and two names, Caitlin and something else. Maybe they were his kids.” 

Joe frowned, “Should I send some officers down? Sounds like a drug bust to me.” 

“No dad, it’s fine. But it was so weird; he was looking at me…as if he knew me. He said my name, too.” 

“You’ve printed stories before, maybe he’s a fan.” 

Iris nodded slowly at Joe, but her face was drawn into a stern blank expression. She wasn’t convinced. 

“There was something strange about it.” 

“Don’t worry about him, Iris. You get some sleep girl, worry about your job.” 

“Okay dad. I’m gonna grab a coffee, you want one?” 

Joe shook his head, “I’ve got work to do here. I’ll see you at home?”

Iris nodded and left Joe to speak to some officers that were waiting for him. She opened the door, gentler this time, and rounded the corner to Jitters. 

“Just a latte, thanks,” Iris asked the barista once she’d reached the front of the queue. She took it gratefully, as it warmed up her hands and calmed her nerves. She’d been shaken by the man from earlier, and had already been stressed from her new job. 

She waved to some people sitting in the corner seats and mouthed hellos as she left Jitters, coffee in hand, on her way home. Iris thought over the stories she’d been planning in her head, wondering how she’d make her story about local businesses entertaining. 

“Miss West?” 

Iris turned to see the same dishevelled man from earlier waiting for her on the bench outside the coffee shop. 

“Look, sir, I don’t know what you want from me but I need to get home. I have work to do.” 

“Iris, please. Five minutes.” 

Iris laughed shakily, “How do you know my name?” 

“My name is Harry. Harrison Wells. I know your name because we’re friends. Or we were, once.” 

“Sir, uh Harry, I’ve never met you before in my life.” 

Harry buried his head in his hands. 

“Iris, Iris please listen to me. We are friends, but we’ve forgotten somehow. Whoever made us forget, they want to stop us from doing something.” 

“You’ve got the wrong person, Harry.” 

“Then how do you explain this, Miss West?” 

Harry held out his hand shakily, and unveiled a small stack of post-it notes. He held one out for her and she took it gingerly. It read: ‘Caitlin- Thank Iris for the jacket (also tell her I borrowed it). There’s a few bullet holes but don’t worry, we’re fine. KF’ 

“Who’s Caitlin, and who’s KF?” 

Harry held out another one, which read, ‘KF- Joe is mad you took his gun, you left my fingerprints on it. Don’t make me burn our fingertips off (if I don’t Joe will). Caitlin’ 

“I…I really don’t understand.” 

“Yeah, I don’t have time to explain this whole thing,” Harry said gesturing to the notes, “but listen to me when I say Caitlin is our friend. She knows you, and she knows Joe. She’s been taken, along with our other friends. You know Cisco, and Barry, your friend slash ex-boyfriend. They need us, Iris.” 

Iris ran a nervous, stressed hand through her hair. 

“They, they ring a bell but I don’t know them! You slipped something into my coffee, didn’t you? You, you’ve done something.” 

Harry shook his head, “You haven’t taken your hand off it, Iris.” 

“Okay I’ll humour you. Who are these three people and why were they taken?” 

“Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon and Barry Allen are, well were, vigilante meta-humans who we worked with. We all worked together as a team to stop other Metas. But some people took them, and God knows how long they’ve been gone. They wiped our memory or something, but I’ve been having memories…fragments of them for days now,” said Harry.  


Iris didn’t know whether or not to admit it to Harry, but she had experienced some weird dreams over the past few days. There were flashes of white hair and kind brown eyes, a charming smile and red, laughter and code names. 

“Meta-humans don’t exist.” 

“Come on, Iris, you know they do.” 

“I don’t know why,” Iris paused, “but I think I believe you.” 

He shouted gleefully and threw his fist into the air, something Iris found comfortingly familiar. 

“Somehow we need to convince your dad. Our friends need our help, and we can’t help them alone. I’ve been gathering information and the place they’re being kept is full of Metas. I don’t know how we’d even get in, let alone get out.” 

“I, I don’t know,” said Iris, overwhelmed. 

“Convince your dad to meet us at S.T.A.R Labs, tomorrow. I’ll show you everything I have, and we we’ll figure it out.” 

Iris nodded and took a slow sip of coffee, watching Harry frantically run away, in the direction of S.T.A.R Labs, somewhere Iris hadn’t even realised was used anymore.  


The next day was bright, but Harry felt the weight of their plan on his shoulders. He wondered how much he could trust these two, he knew they were friends, but at the moment they didn’t know any better. He tapped his feet impatiently as he waited for them to appear. 

They parked the car and awkwardly greeted Harry, as if testing out how much of their friendship he remembered. 

“Thanks for coming, Miss West, Detective,” said Harry. 

Iris smiled politely but Joe’s expression didn’t change. 

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I can’t deny it feels like something’s missing. And, I found these.” 

Joe held out his hands and handed what was in them to Harry. One was a small framed photograph; he thought he’d seen it before, of a young boy and a young girl. ‘Barry & Iris’ were engraved into the frame. The other was a photograph of an ultrasound. He turned it over and he found ‘For Joe and Cecille, congratulations. Love, Caitlin.’ 

“I told you, we know them. And now we’ve got to figure out a way to save them,” said Harry. 

“Do you have any ideas?”

“Actually, I might do. Before Cisco left, we were working on a power dampener. There are plenty of them in the form of drugs, but we wanted something lightweight and that could work on a wider radius. I think Cisco finished it. It works like a gas, and if we can manage to distribute it, then we can send in the police.” 

“That could work. If we can distribute it, I’ll have the police waiting outside to raid it. But it’s too dangerous to send someone in,” said Joe. 

“I’ll do it,” said Iris. The others turned to look at her. 

“No,” said Joe. 

“I’ll pretend to be a pizza delivery, or a cold caller. I’ll throw the gas through the door and run. Just have the police ready to be my backup, and there won’t be a problem. Come on, I can do this.” 

“I think it’s our best shot, Detective,” urged Harry. 

Joe sighed, “Fine, fine. But if she gets hurt in any way, it’s on you.” 

Harry nodded acceptingly, as if he already knew that was true without Joe having to say it. 

“I’ll find the gas; it should be up in S.T.A.R Labs somewhere. You find Iris a disguise. I wouldn’t suggest telling the police that we’re sending a civilian in.” 

“Okay. Meet you at Washington Heights in an hour,” said Joe, shaking hands with Harry. 

Iris and Joe left in Joe’s car, overwhelmed by everything they had learned from Harry. They had both been remembering more, but only tiny pieces. They didn’t know enough to piece things together, but they knew they loved the three strangers, and needed to help them.

Harry turned around and walked further into the abandoned S.T.A.R Labs. He had used to work there, but he gave it up when his experiments didn’t lead anywhere. He wondered how much of that was false, how much his brain had tricked him to believe. 

Once he found the elevator, he discovered that the lab wasn’t abandoned at all. Everything was still there as if it had merely been left for the night. Some of the lights were still on, and all the power still worked. 

He found hundreds of projects and equipment that he’d never made. Harry had thought the lab had been empty. He shook his head to clear it.  
Harry identified Cisco’s desk by the amount of nick-knacks and tools laid out messily. He had a variety of photos on the table, one of him and Caitlin, one of him and his brother, and one of him and all of the team. Harry recognised himself there, along with Joe and Iris. 

Harry was thrown when the power dampener, found in Cisco’s drawer, looked suspiciously like a grenade. He hoped he was remembering correctly, and that it wouldn’t do much damage. There was a button on the side to release the gas, and Harry was careful not to press it as he put it in his pocket. 

He saw a S.T.A.R Labs sweatshirt hanging over Caitlin’s chair and he smiled sadly. It was complicated to him that he felt such worry, grief and loss for someone, or three of them, that he could barely remember. Harry hoped when they found them, they’d all be able to get their memory back. 

His phone buzzed, and he looked down to see Iris’s name. He shouldn’t have been surprised that she was a contact in his phone. The text read: ‘CCPD on board. We’re heading to WH now-see you soon’. 

Harry texted back and climbed into his car, parked out the front of the building. He was careful not to nudge the bomb in his pocket, as he was painfully aware it was the only solution they’d be able to find. 

Harry found Joe and a large group of officers standing on the outskirts of Washington Heights. They nodded at him, and Joe walked over. 

“They think you’re a consultant. Iris is outside the address you gave her. On my signal she’ll move, and we’ve got to be so fast. She’ll have seconds. We’ll infiltrate, and you need to come with us in case you spot one of them. I don’t even know what they look like, really,” said Joe. 

“Of course Detective, let’s move now.” 

They approached the house extremely carefully, fast enough that the residents wouldn’t alert each other. The police moved in rows, and halted at the wave of Joe’s hand.  


Harry caught sight of the house. He saw Iris standing outside nervously, wearing a polo shirt of one of the local charities. She walked over slowly and Harry handed her the bomb. He showed her how to use it and left her by the door before rejoining Joe. He heard Joe yell at the police to raid and they sprinted forward. They heard the hiss of gas as it dispersed through the house, and shouts of surprise. Joe and Harry waited for Iris, who they’d spotted running towards them. Her eyes were wide and she was out of breath, but she was okay. 

“Go…go find them,” she panted, pointing to the house. 

Joe and Harry ran after the police, avoiding some of the Metas who ran past them, desperate for freedom. The house stank of dirt and blood and the men fought the urge to gag. The police checked every room, but there wasn’t a sign of any of their friends. 

“Wait, Harry did you hear that?” 

“Hear what?”

But then the shout came again. The voice was weak, hoarse, but they heard it. It was coming from a room opposite them. Joe kicked the door down and swore.  


It was pristine, not like any other parts of the house, and was filled with enough equipment that it could be a room in S.T.A.R Labs. But, sat in the centre of the room, zip tied to the bolted down table leg, sat Cisco Ramon. 

“Harry? Joe?” he asked in a cracked voice, as if he couldn’t believe they were real. 

“It’s us, buddy,” said Joe, kneeling down to help cut the bounds. 

They both saw blood on his clothes and his face, some dried and some fresh. His eye was bruised and he had a lump on his forehead. There were some burn marks on his cheek and arms, like that had been a tactic to control him. His wrists, too, were bloodied and bruised, and Harry guessed he’d been previously hand-cuffed for days. He looked weak, and Harry wasn’t sure he’d have the strength to walk out of the house unaided. His blood began to boil, and that’s when he remembered everything. 

Harry wrapped his arms around Cisco and hugged him tight, something Joe did too after which suggested he’d begun to remember everything too. 

“I thought you guys didn’t remember us?” asked Cisco, his voice quieter. 

“How could we forget you?” Joe grinned. 

Cisco’s head had begun to roll to the side and his breathing had gotten shallower. Harry panicked. 

“Cisco, stay with us. We need you to tell us where Caitlin and Barry are.” 

His face twisted into a frown. 

“Gone…” he said, “they took them.” 

"Cisco stay awake, what do you mean? Took them where?" asked Joe. 

And then he passed out, collapsing against Harry, who dragged him up. Joe and Harry managed to carry him out between them, the apparent threat on Caitlin and Barry’s lives hanging over them like a dead weight.


	9. Chapter 9

Caitlin’s heart surged as she was thrown upwards. She slammed her hand blindly onto the ground to stop herself from going flying, but she only hit uncomfortable metal bars. She opened her eyes to see what had happened but everything was dark. Blind, was her first thought, and then she slowly began to remember where she was. 

She was stuck in a cage like an animal, in the back of a van, and they’d just hit a pothole. She rubbed her side, which had hit the bars, and sucked in a breath.  


It took her a while to focus through the fuzziness of her head, and she frowned as she tried to think through it. They’d most likely been given a benzodiazepine of some kind; at around a dose of 0.2 mg. 3 mg could be toxic, even fatal for both her and Barry. She tried not to think about all the other substances she’d been subjected too. 

“Barry?” she whispered, her voice fragile. 

“Yeah, Cait I’m here.” 

“How are you feeling?” 

Barry chuckled softly, “Probably not as bad as you. I need to be doctoring you, not the other way round.” 

“That’s not your job, though Doctor Allen has a nice ring to it.” 

“Not as nice as Doctor Snow.” 

Caitlin smiled gently.

"Where do you think we are?" she asked. 

"We haven't travelled too far, I don't think, but we're definitely out of the city." 

"Too far for any one to find us?" Caitlin sighed. Barry didn't answer her question, and they sat in silence for a moment. Caitlin heard a sound on the other side of the van in the quiet, and she frowned. 

“Did you hear that?” she asked. Barry could hear her fidgeting. 

“No, what was it?” 

“Listen,” she hissed. 

The thump came from the other side of the van door. It sounded like someone’s fist was colliding with it. It gradually got louder, and voices followed. 

The door was opened slowly, as if the person on the other side wanted to drag it on, like they were enjoying the reveal. It was beginning to get dark, but even the soft light hurt their eyes when it was revealed. They’d gotten used to the dark; it felt surreal to be outside. 

The person also revealed himself slowly. He came into their view like he was viewing them at an art gallery. 

The man was well built, maybe in his 40s, with a messy mop of dark brown hair. His eyes were a dark brown, like Caitlin’s, but they were bloodshot and cold. His cheek was marred with scarring, intensive ones at that, and Caitlin couldn’t help wonder where he’d gotten them. 

Cayden Grimm was a man who’d once left an impression on Caitlin. She wouldn’t admit it now, obviously, but when she’d first met him she’d been impressed. He’d been working beside Harrison when she’d first apprenticed with him, and had stunned her with his abilities. Now, though, she figured his new abilities wouldn’t leave her in awe like before. 

“Miss Snow, now this is a surprise,” he purred. 

“It’s Doctor Snow, actually.” 

Grimm clapped his hands together slowly, “My, well things certainly have changed haven’t they? You’ll have noticed that I’ve changed too.” 

“I guess you have.” 

Grimm leaned forward and rested his chin on his hand, “You know, I was always jealous, watching you pad around Harrison’s lab like a library cat. He had fame, all the tech his hands could hold, and something to gawk at in the corner. Or maybe he preferred Rathaway and Ramon. I wanted to use you like you let him use you.” 

“None of us were his pets, or his trophies,” Caitlin said firmly. 

“No I suppose not. But look at you now! We really have come full circle. Why don’t you introduce me to your famous boyfriend?” 

Barry was looking at the two in surprise. He’d been trying to anticipate who the Boss would be, but he hadn’t thought Caitlin would know him. 

“The Flash,” Barry said as strongly as he could. 

“Ah, a man who need not a woman to introduce him. I like that.” 

Caitlin rolled her eyes. 

“I’m sorry, did you have something to say?” asked Grimm. 

“It’s just nice to see one thing that hasn’t changed. You’d still see me as inferior if my associates were dogs, long as they were male.” 

Grimm’s eyes lit up furiously and it made Caitlin nervous. 

“Huh, funny you should say ‘dogs’. I have a little present for you.” 

Grimm snapped his fingers at whoever was near him. Caitlin could only see beyond the open doors of the van, but she strained to see through the blacked-out windows at the top of the van. All she could see was a dark, gloomy looking sky. 

Someone had passed him a cardboard box, and he opened it excitedly as if it had been a gift for him. Inside was what looked like a shock collar, which was thick and heavy with a neon green light. It was made of some kind of metal, but whatever it was it looked uncomfortable. 

“What’s that?” asked Caitlin, her voice shaking. 

“Oh don’t worry, it’s nothing weird. It’s a power dampener, everyone here wears one. Just to make sure neither of you try anything funny,” said Grimm. 

He sent in whoever had been driving the van to unlock the cages and push them free. Caitlin had briefly thought about running free, but her legs tinkled and turned to jelly. She could hardly hold herself upright as she was pushed next to Grimm. Barry had to steady her once he was free too. 

Grimm placed his hand on the side of her neck, his cold palms making her squirm. He held it there, and Caitlin imagined his fingers tightening around her throat if she dared to move. He snapped open the collar and placed it around her neck. It was tight, almost suffocating, and it itched until she gave in and scratched at it. He pressed a button on his keys and the green button turned red with an insufferable whining. 

Barry’s did the same, and his hands reached up subconsciously. He looked as though he was trying to run, but Caitlin could see he was getting frustrated. Her body relaxed, knowing escape was off the table. 

“Doctor Snow, if you’d like to follow me. I can’t sell you when you look like you’ve been living under a bush. Also, unless you can turn your powers on and off, we’re going to need a tactic. No one wants to see Caitlin, they want her. Take the Flash to Block A. He’ll be comfortable there.” 

The person who’d been stood beside Grimm took a hold of Barry, grip tight on his forearm. She wore the same collar as both of them, causing bruising around her neck. The woman made no eye contact, and said nothing to Barry as she whisked him away. He mouthed ‘Caitlin’ before the woman turned him around and dragged him away. 

Caitlin was brought to what looked like an old storage container. It was open, and harsh lights were strung up inside. There were a few collapsible chairs, a hospital bed and boxes of equipment. Grimm sat Caitlin down on the hospital bed, but she squirmed when he reached for the boxes.

“Did you think I was about to torture you? Torture is a weak and pathetic tactic used by people who don’t know how to extract information. I’m trying to help you. If you don’t let me clean you up, then you won’t sell. And if you don’t sell, we’ll either kill you or send you back to those idiots,” said Grimm. 

She sighed and sat back on the bed, avoiding looking at the box. Grimm cleaned her wounds with antiseptic wipes, telling her they were most likely already infected. She was able to brush her hair, but that’s all she could fix. Her clothes were still blood stained and her face was marred with bruises. She was sure some bones were broken, or fractured. 

“Shame we can’t do anything else. You could do with stitches, there’s water in your lungs, and you’ve got ugly bruises everywhere. Too bad, really,” said Grimm. 

Caitlin crossed her arms over her body and frowned. 

Grimm dug around in the box and produced a handful of painkillers, “If you walk to your block all polite and pretty, you can have one. What will it be?” 

Caitlin nodded and smiled, so Grimm put one of the pills in her mouth. They were close, almost nose to nose, so Caitlin leaned back and head-butted him, spitting the pill back so it hit him in the eye. 

“Bitch,” he exclaimed, rubbing his head. 

He grabbed his head violently in his hands and slammed her head into the wall. She screamed in pain and surprise, the crack echoing in her ears. Her forehead was grazed and bleeding, and blood spurted from her nose. Grimm didn’t clean it up this time; he tied cloth around her head so it stuck in her mouth. She gagged, and he sighed. 

“You did this, not me. We have plenty of methods, Tasers and the like, and if you don’t behave we’ll suggest them to your buyer. Now hands out, quickly.”

Caitlin held out her hands and Grimm tied them together with rope. He tugged at the rope to get her to stand up and walk out of the container. She stumbled and, as soon as they stepped outside, she hunched over and threw up on a patch of grass. Grimm turned up his nose, and shouted for a cleaner. 

“I gotta say I’m not as impressed as I was before. I mean, you’re still beautiful, but it’s different. Women shouldn’t be marred like this; it shows they’ve been fighting. Men know that’s for them, they don’t like that to be challenged. Anyways, you’ll be expensive and easy to sell, so Block B it is for you. Just be glad you’re not in D or latter, they’re the Metas that usually get killed.” 

“Yeah I feel so lucky.” 

Grimm ignored her, “You see, things work like clockwork here. The blocks F-D are for low-life Metas, ones who will be more servants than anything else. They don’t often sell, but some like them for labour and things. C are useful Metas, they fetch a decent price. Now B, and your new home, is for dangerous, often criminal Metas, ones that can be weaponised. Practically a guaranteed sale with you lot, especially if they’re…appealing to look at.” 

“So what’s A?” 

“A is very specific, actually. Vigilantes or those who decide to play hero. Seems there’s a market for them. Your Flash will be right at home.” 

It reminded Caitlin of a dog rescue centre she’d visited when she was younger, with rows and rows of inbuilt cages along the walls all on concrete floor. The only differences were the toilets, rickety beds and small metal crate of necessities; toothbrushes, hairbrushes, toilet rolls. Caitlin cringed, as it was a reminder that she was expected to stay for a while. 

She was brought to one of the end cells, which seemed, if possible, even lonelier than the other ones. People watched her as she was marched along, men with green hair, women with scales, and whatever else she could imagine. 

“This is your home now, make yourself comfortable. And for God sake, clean yourself up, you look an absolute mess. It’s embarrassing.”  
He watched her through the bars for a minute, observing her as she perched on the end of her bed. Grimm smirked and waved her off as he left, slamming his fist against another cage after a woman cooed at him. 

“What the hell happened to you?” 

Caitlin turned to whoever had spoken. The sides of the cage were concrete, so she couldn’t see whoever had seen her walk past. 

“I guess the same thing that happened to you.” 

“Probably, ‘cept I don’t look like I’ve walked backwards through hell. They really did a number on you, huh?” 

Caitlin sighed, “Yeah. They did.” 

“I heard they brought in a vigilante, you friends with it?” 

“He’s one of my best friends. I’ve already lost one of them, and now he’s gone too.” 

The voice on the other side paused for a moment. 

“I’d say I have some sympathy, but it’s better to be alone when you’re here. Worrying about how someone else is faring, it makes this even more torturous. Besides, if he looks as bad as you, he won’t last long.” 

Caitlin didn’t answer; she just curled up on the bed. It was more uncomfortable than being on the floor, but she didn’t have the energy to move again. 

“Put some of that toilet paper on the back of your head, it’s bleeding. Try not to sleep on it; it’ll make the concussion worse.” 

Caitlin listened, but her head ached wherever she lay, so she sat with her back to the wall, cross-legged on the floor. She held the paper to her head and it was quickly soaked in blood. She hadn’t realised she’d still been bleeding, and it was worrying. 

She felt her hand go limp and drop into her lap. Her head rolled forward and she get herself fall asleep. 

“-yeah that’s not happening any time soon, unless you want to carry her out.” 

Caitlin heard voices around her, pulling her from sleep. They were muffled and she couldn’t place where they were coming from. 

“What happened?” said one of the voices. 

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe you shouldn’t have messed her up and thrown her in a cage.” 

Caitlin’s eyes opened very slowly, and even when they opened her vision was blurry and confused. Her eyes found the feet of whoever was standing above her. 

“Oi, Meta, I just said get on your feet and move, now!” 

Someone was shouting, crouched at her body. She was slumped over, and wasn’t able to sit up. She noticed all the Metas were lined up outside their cages, guns pointed to their heads. She felt even dizzier seeing them look down at her. 

“She has a fever, she isn’t going anywhere,” said one of the Metas opposite her. 

“Well we’ve been compromised, and we don’t leave any witnesses. So either she gets up now, or we shoot her in the head.” 

“Not so fast,” Grimm appeared in her vision. She wondered how long he’d been stood there. 

He picked her up like a bride and she groaned at the movement. She felt sick, but her body wouldn’t move enough to allow it. Something was seriously wrong, and judging by the blood she’d left behind, it was her head. 

“She’s worth money, don’t shoot her. Throw her with the rest of B and A blocks in the vans, and make sure she doesn’t die.” 

“Yes, Sir,” the man said to Grimm. 

Caitlin screamed and writhed in his arms as a blaring alarm sounded around the block. It pierced into her feverish head like a knife. 

“For God’s sake, how did they get in?” asked Grimm. 

“Uh, Grimm, there’s been a problem. Someone’s breached the compound, they’re with the Boss. We gotta move out, now.” 

Shouting erupted in the room, but Caitlin’s vision was swimming. Her head was hanging over Grimm’s arm, and she stared up at the ceiling as it spun and swirled. She mumbled deliriously under her breath. He was moving, and she was still in his arms. She’d close her eyes every few seconds as she grew tired, and found flashing red lights and people running to be free from whoever had invaded. 

She thought she heard her name from a distance, but she realised that she couldn’t open her eyes again once they had been closed. Someone else called for her, and the last thing she thought before her mind disappeared into the dark was how they knew her name.


	10. Chapter 10

Caitlin had been woken up in a number of cruel, violent ways, but this had been her least favourite. Her body had never felt so terrible, to the point where she thought she was looking down at it being beaten and left for dead. Maybe that was the fever talking, though. 

She was dropped from the arms of Grimm and she fell with a thud onto the hard concrete. She landed in an awkward position; arm bent behind her back, so she rolled over and curled up, sheltering her eyes from the light. 

Her head pounded and she shivered, reaching out her hand to attempt to pull herself up. She couldn’t, but she felt something underneath her palm; a warm liquid. She lifted her head and saw, lying behind her, was Grimm, a single bullet hole to his head. She whimpered. 

She felt her hair in the slowly drying blood, and she couldn’t decide whether it was her own her Grimm’s. Judging by the pain in her head and, basically, every part of her body, she concluded that at least some of it had to be hers. 

“Caitlin? Oh my god Caitlin, come on. Please.” 

Caitlin’s eyes were squeezed shut, and she couldn’t determine who was talking to her. She remembered, miserably, that no one knew her name here. Grimm did, and he was dead. Barry did too, of course, but he was probably dead too. And she would be soon as well. 

Someone brushed her face with their hand, and lifted her eyes open with their thumb. She protested weakly, as if that would stop them from hurting her any more. She blinked slowly a few times to clear her vision, and found Joe looking down at her. 

“There you go darling, keep ‘em open,” he said in a soft, encouraging murmur. She tried hard to, for him, but all she wanted to do was sleep. They slowly closed again, so he sat her up and held her upright with his hands on both of her arms. 

“You’re not real,” she whispered. 

Her eyes opened again when she felt someone else’s hand on the back of her head. She cringed and leaned away when she felt a sharp sting of pain. 

“It’s me Cait, I’m sorry,” said a voice behind her. 

“Who?” asked Caitlin, her voice barely audible to either of the people around her. 

She felt the sadness in the room as the people realised how disorientated and confused she actually was. The second person held her head gently, as if he knew she couldn’t hold it up herself. 

“It’s Harry. Iris and Cisco are looking for Barry. Don’t worry, we found him and he’s okay, mostly. He wouldn’t stay behind, no matter what we said. Joe said we’d tie him to the table and he had a panic attack. That’s when we realised we’d left you guys too long.” 

Caitlin tried to listen to his rambling, and not think about her rattling breaths. Breathing had become harder, and the others had noticed. 

“We have to get her out of here, fast. Look at her. Think Cisco can breach us back?” whispered Joe, as if she couldn’t hear him. 

“We better hope so,” said Harry. 

His hand left her head and she leaned into Joe, comforted by his presence. He stroked her hair and attempted to comfort her as Harry tried to figure out the collar around her neck. She shook fearfully as his hands found her neck, and he had to repeat that he wouldn’t hurt her every few seconds to stop her from panicking. 

He managed to remove it after a few minutes, and it clicked, falling to the ground with a loud clatter. Her neck was bruised and scratched, and they saw a grim looking cut that mimicked the one on her face. 

A hot, painful flush shuddered through her body and she groaned. She felt strands of her hair sticking to the sides of her face, but she couldn’t wipe away the beads of sweat if she tried. Caitlin had never felt so confused, as if she was watching someone else writhing on the floor instead of doing it herself, in some sort of surreal fever dream. 

“Hey, hey Cait…don’t do that, no,” Joe spoke sternly, holding her tighter, but she let her eyes roll back and collapsed into him. She was still awake but she felt herself drifting from consciousness. 

He held her, radiating panic, as he looked to Harry, who was mumbling worriedly to himself. He pressed his hand to her forehead, which was burning at an alarming rate. 

“Where the hell are the others?” barked Joe. 

Doors flew open and they could hear a series of footsteps. They panicked for a second, but they recognised who had come through. Joe and Harry smiled in relief when they saw that Barry was okay, though a bit beaten up, and that he was able to run beside Iris and Cisco. 

“Caitlin!” the shout was so loud it had been the only thing that had managed to get her to open her eyes. Joe and Harry had tried, even slapping her gently, but she couldn’t find the energy to humour them. 

Cisco, Barry and Iris were crouched down beside her. Iris and Cisco were crying, she noticed, and they were both softly shaking her. Barry looked as though he’d been beaten since Caitlin had last seen him, she noticed, and one of his eyes was almost completely swollen shut. He didn’t even look relieved to see her, concern was written all over his face and it made her hope fade with her vision. 

“We have to go, now,” barked Harry as another siren sounded. 

Caitlin stood up at the sound of the urgency but her knees buckled and she slammed into a kneeling position, only adding to the bruises on her legs. Harry grabbed her under her arm and helped her upright. 

“Can you walk?” asked Iris. 

“Yeah,” croaked Caitlin. It was the first time she’d spoken in a while, and it took a lot of energy. She took one step and stumbled, the pressure building in her head already. 

“No, let me,” she heard, distorted beside her. Someone stepped back and Caitlin felt warm, strong hands on her lower back and her legs. They lifted her into their arms and she felt real, proper comfort for the first time in weeks. 

“You’re okay Cait,” the whisper came from Barry, and she realised she was in his arms. She wondered how he had the strength to lift her. She groaned as her body was jerked around, her face scrunched up tightly. 

She wrapped her arm around his neck and dreamily rested her head on Barry’s chest. She held his bloody, dirty shirt in her hand like it was a lifeline. He murmured security and comfort to her as they prepared for Cisco to breach them home. She realised, even though she’d only been away from him for a day, that she couldn’t cope without him. 

She lost the voices around her, despite them all speaking comfortingly to her, and she hadn’t realised she’d closed her eyes until she felt the heat from Cisco’s breach and felt the light behind her eyelids. She pressed her face into Barry’s neck as her breathing became shallower. 

She didn’t feel any different but she knew they were back in S.T.A.R Labs by the relief in Cisco’s voice. She opened her eyes very slowly but quickly closed them again after the bright whiteness of the lab stung. 

“Set her down on the med table, and get someone to look Barry over. Cisco too, for that matter, that’s the first time he’s breached this many people since he’s been back,” said Harry firmly. 

Caitlin protested loudly at being put down, partly because it hurt and partly because she wasn’t quite ready to leave Barry’s hold yet. He ran his hand down her arm as she lay back, resting it in her hand and squeezing it comfortingly. 

They waited for Cisco to run some tests, which were extremely difficult for both Barry and Caitlin. Caitlin had to be pinned down in the end, after the sight of a needle made her violently throw up over the side of the table. 

She watched as Cisco, having swatted Harry away, checked over Barry. The cuts were superficial and the bruises would fade, he said, but he had to watch for concussion. As he mentioned the concussion, he felt over Barry’s head gingerly feeling for lumps. Barry winced as Cisco touched the back of his neck. 

“Hey guys, what’s this?” he asked. 

His concerned tone made Joe and Harry walk over from where they were watching Caitlin. She wriggled to see what they were looking at, but Barry held her still in case she hurt herself more. 

“Pass me those tweezers,” said Cisco as he gestured to Harry. He reached over and grabbed them, apologising softly when Caitlin whimpered and stared at the tweezers fearfully. Cisco made an effort to keep them out of her view. 

“Cisco, what are you doin-ouch! Jesus,” cried out Barry. 

“Sorry Bar, but you’ll be glad I got this out of you.” 

“What is it?” asked Joe. 

“It’s a tiny, weeny chip. Looks like a power inhibitor, I’ve seen similar tech, but you see this little flashing light? That means it’s being tracked,” explained Cisco as he put the chip down in a tray. 

“How long has it been active for?” Joe asked. 

“Honestly, probably for as it’s been in his neck for.” 

Iris winced, “that doesn’t sound like good news.” 

“Ugh guys, we’ve got worse news,” said Barry as he stared down at Caitlin. 

She was grasping at her head, tugging at her messy hair, with her face screwed up in pain. Cisco noticed that the fever had gotten worse, as her eyes rolled back and the beads of sweat made their way down her face and body. 

“Barry step back, now,” said Joe. 

“No, I’m not leaving her, she’s scared!” 

“Barry, Cisco needs room,” said Harry, leaving the ‘you’re not going to like what you see’ hanging in the silence. He obliged reluctantly. 

“Joe,” said Cisco, his voice wavering, “Go and look at my computer. Tell me what it says on the screen.” 

“It says severe concussion, cracked rib, three broken finger bones, infected cut and 44% toxicity levels.” 

“Cait, listen to me. 60% is the extremely dangerous toxicity level, so you’ll be okay if we put you on a drip. But you have to stay awake, okay? You have a concussion and you’re in shock, promise me you won’t close your eyes.” 

She nodded, suddenly conscious of how desperate she was to fall asleep, and how hard it was to keep her eyes focused on the people in the room. She met Cisco’s eyes, however, and nodded again, for confirmation. 

“I need you to say it Cait,” said Cisco. 

She opened her mouth to speak, but it was so dry. She figured she was dehydrated, but she couldn’t face the idea of a drip just yet. Barry passed her a glass of water Iris had run to get and she sipped as he held it, unable to reach up herself. 

“Yes, I promise,” she then repeated. 

He stroked her hair and kissed her cheek before walking away into the other room, preparing the medicines she needed. He called Harry over to help, knowing full well she wouldn’t accept anything invasive after her experience. 

“I’m so glad you’re both home. I don’t know what we’d do without you,” said Joe, pulling Barry into a bear hug. He leaned down to Caitlin, getting slightly emotional as he did so, and wrapping his arms around her. 

“Can we get you guys anything? We’re going to find ice packs anyway,” said Iris. 

“A chance of clothes would be great,” said Caitlin, who had only managed to change Cisco’s hoodie for Barry’s S.T.A.R Labs one. 

“Yeah, course,” she said, giving them both a gentle, yet pitying, smile before leaving them alone. 

Barry walked over to the other side of the room to get some water, for him and Caitlin, giving her some privacy as she weakly tied her hair up in a bun and cleaned her face with a towel that had been left for her. He knew she’d be embarrassed asking for help. 

She struggled moving her limbs, as if as soon as they were safe they’d decided they were too tired to move. She supposed the numbness of her body was the loss of the adrenaline rush she had been experiencing. Caitlin hadn’t even noticed how much her whole body had been trembling. 

Her skin was deathly pale, and she could see all of the veins on her wrists. They were bruised and red, and every time she looked at them she was reminded about how much they stung. Her nails were almost all broken, with blood and dirt under them. She tucked them under the knitted blanket Joe had draped over her. 

As soon as everyone left her alone, Caitlin rolled over and felt the struggle for breath. She inhaled sharply, barely feeling the stream of tears. She cried quietly for as long as she could, but the sobs became louder as her emotions became harder to keep down. She cried into the pillow Cisco had brought her. 

“Cait?” asked Barry, who had taken a seat at the end of the med table/makeshift bed she was lying on. She grumbled something that was meant to be ‘just go away’ but he didn’t move. 

“Caitlin, please,” he said again. 

“Can…can…can you please stay with me until I fall asleep?” she asked, her voice hoarse. 

He didn’t say anything, but he very carefully moved her to the edge of the bed and lay down next to her. She turned around to face him, eyes heavy, sad and tired, and took a shaky breath. She slowly stopped crying, resting her head on his chest. 

“I’m going to stay with you, full stop,” he whispered into her hair. 

“Are we safe now?” she asked, wrapping her leg around him. 

He nodded, and she felt it, but she missed the frown deepening on his face.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It isn't over yet, the team still has some more problems to deal with! I'm planning another story too, another snowbarry one, so keep an eye out!

She was blinded; swirls of colour invading the darkness behind her eyes, but nothing was clear enough to show her what was happening. The feeling was all too familiar; and she was brought back to waking up cold and confused, unsure of where she was but knowing it wouldn’t be good or safe. Caitlin thrashed desperately as if she could clear her vision or stop whatever was attacking her from doing so.

She couldn’t see much, but it didn’t feel safe, and at this point she had learned to trust her instincts. There had been enough pain, fear and feverish delusion in the last few days for her to recognise when more was likely to occur. And, it seemed, it was likely to appear whenever she was in the dark, alone and scared. 

“Cait listen to me, you need to stop.” 

She heard the voice but she didn’t know who it belonged to. It sounded strong and desperate, like the voices of everyone who she had been the victim of during her capture. Caitlin wondered with a feeling of overwhelming anxiety, which one of them had come for her this time. 

“Please, please leave me alone,” she begged. She braced her arm in front of her face in an attempt to shield it. 

“Caitlin, it’s a dream.” 

The voice was lying. That, or it wasn’t real. She couldn’t be lured into a false sense of security, not when there was so much at stake. Her life, her friends, lives, oh god, where were Barry and Cisco? She shouted for them and only received distorted voices in reply, lost in the shadows. 

There wasn’t any pain following her pea, or any sign of danger, so she reluctantly opened her eyes. She noticed she wasn’t lying on the cold, hard concrete floor, and she was tucked under thick blankets. For a moment, she pondered over the possibility of it being a trick, or if her mind had retreated somewhere, so she whimpered. 

“I know she’ll recognise this.”

“Cisco that isn’t going to help, when has that ever helped,” she heard in the distance. 

A tune filled her ears and momentarily distracted her from the panic she was feeling. It was a song she had heard before, and it reminded her of her friends. She felt calm for just long enough to snap her out of the cycle of fear she was lost in. 

Caitlin found Joe and Cisco staring down at her from either side of her makeshift bed, their hands on her as she twisted and turned. It took her several gulps of breath before she could recover, and she breathed deeply until her lungs stopped burning. She shook them off, hating the feeling of hands on her during her disorientation. It took her several moments to calm down and to concentrate on who was in front of her. 

“Sorry,” she said breathily, trying to prop herself up on her elbow. 

“Oh god, don’t be,” Joe said softly, “we were just worried about you. Nightmares, probably, you’ve sure had plenty of them over the past few nights.” 

Caitlin narrowed her heavy eyes at Joe. Had he said past few nights? She thought she’d only been at S.T.A.R Labs for a few hours at most. She vaguely remembered being brought in, and she’d fallen asleep a few hours later. 

“How long have I been out?” she asked quietly.

Cisco and Joe exchanged glances. Joe cleared his throat but didn’t speak up, leaving it to Cisco, “you’ve been unconscious for 4 days, about 95 hours. Your fever kept getting worse and worse…we didn’t know what to do. We managed to get some fluids in you as you slept, straightened out broken bones, stitches, that sort of thing. You’re getting better, but you’re still in the worst shape we’ve ever seen you.” 

“Gee thanks,” she laughed. 

Cisco didn’t wait more than a second after he saw she was alright before pouncing on her. He dove onto the bed and wrapped his arms around her, still being careful not to nudge her as she was more than likely sore everywhere. She laughed and jokingly pushed him away. He grinned and kissed her forehead before helping her sit up.

“Hell, I was so worried! I had no idea what was going to happen…” Cisco sighed, clearly relieved. 

“Shush, you’ll wake Barr, and you know this is the only sleep he’s had in at least 4 days, probably way longer,” warned Joe. 

Honestly, Caitlin hadn’t noticed Barry curled up asleep on a plastic chair beside her. His face was screwed up tightly but he definitely looked more peaceful than she had seen him in a while. She watched his nose twitch as he slept, frowning every now and then in his dream. Caitlin wondered if he had nightmares, too.

This was the first time she’d seen him properly since they were reunited. He looked bruised too, one bursting purple and yellow up his left arm, and his nose was swollen too. He had a few scrapes but her main concern was how fragile and tired he looked. She’d been in and out of nightmares, but at least she’d been sleeping. The same clearly couldn’t be said for him. 

“How is he?” Caitlin asked. 

“Physically, he’s getting better. But he isn’t even beginning to heal mentally, not when you’ve been out cold for so long. Won’t sleep, eat or drink knowing you aren’t okay,” said Cisco knowingly. 

Caitlin attempted to climb out of bed, but she was stopped by both Cisco and Joe. She realised why when her head pounded deafeningly strong and she had to resist the urge to throw up. Cisco seemed to notice and ran to get a bin, which she held her head into. 

“You probably shouldn’t be up and about, not any time soon. But I’m sure you can assess that for yourself, Doctor,” said Cisco. He smiled fondly when she pouted and pointedly handed him the bin. 

“Caitlin!” said Harry enthusiastically as he burst through the door, earning a stern look from Joe, which he promptly ignored.  
“How are you feeling? You’ve been out like a light for long time.” 

“I’m alright Harry,” she smiled. He kissed her forehead and found a spot next to Cisco. 

“We’re all alright, somehow. I guess Team Flash are invincible after all,” Cisco reached out to high-five Caitlin. She was slightly slower than usual, but he just seemed happy that she’d been able to return it. 

She noticed the chips in his nails and the bandages around a few of his fingers. She felt queasy again as she wondered where he’d gotten the injuries from. She wasn’t the only one who had suffered during their misadventure, and she wasn’t the one who was alone either. 

Cisco had noticed the change in her expression, “Okay, maybe we should stop overwhelming you for a while, let you catch up and everything. It’s good to have you back.”

“It’s good to be back.” 

The smile on her face faltered for a moment and everyone noticed. Her frightened gaze was focused on the window that looked into the next room. In the reflection, she caught a glimpse of the Fader, waving her hand teasingly at Caitlin. She gasped when the face merged to Grimm’s whose hands were still thickly coated in her own blood. The red dripped almost dramatically down his arm and on their clean, laboratory floor. 

“Caitlin? Are you okay?” asked Joe. 

Her eyes flickered towards him, where everyone was watching with concern. When she looked back at the window, the faces had disappeared from the glass. She shook her head in confusion. 

“But I thought…” she mumbled. 

“it’s okay, you need time to adjust,” said Harry soothingly. She didn’t answer him. 

“Yeah, I guess I do,” she replied, still watching the window in case she could chalk it up to a trick of the light, or something. 

“We’re going to go and get some food, what do you guys fancy? The three of you have barely eaten, if eaten at all since we got you back let alone before,” asked Harry.  
“I actually fancy some pizza,” said Caitlin, earning a grin from Cisco. 

“That’s a first! No salad for Caitlin Snow, now that’s a new one.” 

She swatted Cisco away as they all gave their orders to Harry and Joe. They received a call from Iris, who was more than angry no one had told her Caitlin was awake, telling them she was waiting outside. Harry and Joe said their goodbyes and chattered their way out of S.T.A.R Labs. 

Caitlin almost laughed as she was left with Barry and Cisco, who were looking at he like sad puppies. She supposed, to everyone else, she looked like a wounded puppy, so it was only fair. 

“Come here,” she said, patting either side of the bed. They jumped on, though mostly hanging off the sides, and lay next to her. 

“It feels good, you know? Us back here, finally safe,” said Cisco, his head in Caitlin’s lap. Harry had, quietly, told Caitlin that he’d been snapping at them and kicking walls since he’d come back. They would’ve diagnosed it as survivors’ guilt, if they hadn’t convinced themselves that both Caitlin and Barry were alive. 

“We’ve been through a lot,” mused Caitlin, “I honestly thought this would be the time where we didn’t all come back.” 

Barry squeezed her hand, “Don’t think like that.” 

“It’s hard to think It’s luck, or coincidence, don’t you think?” 

“Caitlin,” Barry said gently, “you’re obviously going to be a little paranoid but I promise, there’s no ulterior plans, we’re going to be okay. This isn’t a trap.” 

“I know but it, it doesn’t feel real.” 

“I know it doesn’t, trust me but it is. This isn’t the dream, this is reality.” 

Caitlin knew Barry was right, but it didn’t stop her heart from beating every time she heard a noise in the distance, or felt like she was sleeping, bound to wake up.  
Caitlin opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, but she quickly closed it again. They could see whatever it was running through her mind, so they watched her quizzingly. After a few painful moments of silence, Caitlin looked at them both seriously and exhaled. 

“Barry, Cisco?” began Caitlin cautiously, as though she was testing the waters. The boys exchanged a look. 

“Yeah Cait?” asked Barry. 

“There’s something I don’t understand. Once the collar was removed, I should’ve been able to heal right? It happened when I was stabbed, as I…you know, died, I went all Killer Frost. She wouldn’t let me get this bad without healing, she’d take over and fix me. So…why didn’t it happen?” 

“I…I guess that’s something we forgot to explain,” said Cisco sadly, “when we got you back here…there was a lot wrong. There were times when we didn’t think we could fix you. You had a cocktail of drugs in your system, and damage to your head. We think…whatever they did to you, they managed to stop Killer Frost.”  


Caitlin felt a chill as she glanced up at the two of them. 

“What they…changed my DNA?” 

“Yeah, they extracted it and now it looks like the dark matter is gone or corrupted at least. It probably happened when you were drugged, or maybe they managed to do something with the samples they took” added Barry. 

“Excuse me for a minute,” she mumbled as she pulled herself out of bed. Cisco and Barry protested loudly, trying to hold her back. She shook them off and stumbled out of the room. Barry moved forward to stop her, but Cisco held him back. 

“It’s a lot for her to take in, Barry. She’s feeling all fragile, and now she’s just learned she’s even more so than she thought. Give her time.” 

They both resisted going after her, and Harry just left her pizza on her desk, which still had things scattered across it, fragment reminders of the time they’d been taken.


	12. Chapter 12

“Caitlin,” came Cisco’s echoed, tired voice, “you have to come out eventually.” 

Caitlin was sat cross-legged in the pipeline, having locked herself in there following another nightmare. She’d screamed louder than ever before, to the point where Harry had to call Joe to held restrain her. When they’d been able to wake her up, Barry had held her until her panic attack subsided, and then she ran as far away from all of their pitying stares. 

“Please just go,” she sighed on the other side of the door. 

She’d been staying on the make-shift bed in the Cortex, unable to be anywhere else, particularly because of the extent of her injuries. Harry hadn’t wanted Caitlin to even leave S.T.A.R Labs as he worried about her concussion and the fever coming back. Instead, he’d given her a pillow, blanket and an orange jelly cup, all of which she had taken into the pipeline with her.  
She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. 

“You’re dealing with trauma Cait, and you’ve got deep set PTSD. Hiding away in here definitely isn’t going to help. You’re not Elsa,” added Harry, who Caitlin hadn’t realised was there too.  


“Oh, nice going dude,” Cisco hissed angrily as Caitlin banged her head against the door at ‘Elsa’. 

“I’m sorry Caitlin, we need you out here! You can’t just suffer alone,” said Harry. 

“I don’t want to talk to you, not right now,” said Caitlin as she banged her fist against the door. 

“What will it take for you to open the door?” Cisco asked. 

“Find a way to make all…this stop, then maybe I’ll consider it,” sighed Caitlin. She spoke quietly and wasn’t sure if either of the men behind the door had heard her. 

They fell silent, and Caitlin was left alone again. The silence was deafening, but she preferred it to Cisco and Harry trying to make her feel better. They had been trying for days, since she woke up, but she hadn’t had the energy to humour them. The cuts and scrapes on Cisco was a reminder of what happened, and Harry’s sympathetic stammering was getting on her nerves. 

She hugged her knees to her chest, guilt weighing heavily. It wasn’t her friends’ fault she felt this way, and if it wasn’t for them she’d still be…there. 

Caitlin imagined that they’d walked away, finally. It had been hours, Iris and Joe had stopped by to leave tea and a slice of cake outside the door, and Harry and Cisco had approached in turns to check on her. No one knew what to say to her, and in the same sense, she didn’t know what to say to them. 

She wondered how long she’d be able to hide herself away. She couldn’t face going back to her apartment, not alone at least. That was too alone. 

She jumped when she felt a knock on the other side of the door. It was gentle and wasn’t Harry or Cisco. 

“Who is it?” she asked shakily. 

“It’s Barry. Cisco told me you’d locked yourself in here. Why don’t you move aside, let me in, and talk to me about what scared you?” 

“Are you alone?” Caitlin asked slowly. 

“Yeah Cait, it’s just me. Cisco couldn’t resist any longer and went to get burgers with Harry. He asked me to call him if you wanted anything, though.” 

“Thanks, but I’m not really hungry,” said Caitlin. 

“Okay. Can I come in?” asked Barry. 

Caitlin moved away from the door and unlocked it slowly. She didn’t announce anything, however she took a seat on the steps and waited for someone to walk through. After a few moments the door opened, but Caitlin had buried her head in her hands and didn’t notice until she felt a hand on her shoulder. 

“Cait,” Barry greeted softly. 

She was grateful for him, honestly. He was the only one who didn’t look at her like she was an injured stray they’d picked up because, if anything, he was one too. He knew what she was going through, and he understood her without walking on egg shells. 

“Hey,” she said. 

“You want to tell me what the dream was about?” Barry asked gently. 

“It-it was back with the Fader and the others. They’d taken Iris and Harry and Joe too…and you were all being cut up and there was so much screaming…and I was just sat there. I wasn’t tied up but I wasn’t doing anything,” Caitlin went quiet, “You died Barry. They killed you.” 

Barry sat down next to her on the steps, “I’m fine Caitlin, they can’t hurt us anymore.” 

“I know.”

“How are you holding up? Dumb question, I know.” 

“It’s just…every time I wake up screaming or start crying for no reason everyone looks at me like I’m so fragile. Why am I the only one who can’t do this,’ said Caitlin. 

“We’re struggling too, of course, but you’ve been through more than us, Cait! Not to mention you’ve been kidnapped countless times before then,” Barry argued. 

“When will I stop feeling like this?” whispered Caitlin as she rested her head on Barry’s shoulder.

“I don’t know how long it’ll take, but you need to know I’ll be here. I’m not going anywhere and neither are you. But you can’t shut me, or us, out anymore. We’ll be by your side even after you feel like you again.” 

“I know you’ll always be here, but what if none of you can fix me?” asked Caitlin. 

“You don’t need us to fix you because you’re not broken.” 

There was a pause for a moment, and the pair just sat and stared at their feet. Finally, Caitlin spoke up hesitantly.

“How worried are they?”

“They’re pretty worried. Mostly though, they just feel like they’re failing you. Especially Cisco, he’s not used to not knowing what’s going on inside your head.”  
Caitlin paused, “And how worried are you?” 

“I’m not worried, because I know you’ll be fine, in your own time.” 

“Maybe,” said Caitlin. 

“We’ve been through a lot together, and we’re still here. We’ve always made it through whatever we’ve faced, why should this be any different?” said Barry. 

“You’re awfully optimistic,” laughed Caitlin. 

“You should try it sometime,” quipped Barry. 

Caitlin punched him lightly in the shoulder, and he pouted in mock offense. He shrugged when she laughed at him. 

“Thank you for keeping me company,” said Caitlin. 

“I’ll always keep you company,” he replied. 

They hadn’t been in the pipeline for a while, and Caitlin thought, when she’d woken up in the Cortex, that visiting somewhere that had once been a memory of tragedy and was now a reminder of captivity would cause her to break down, but somehow it had become a comfort. 

Maybe, she thought, that the reason it was a comfort to her was because it was a reminder of something bad becoming something good. Granted, keeping meta prisoners wouldn’t be her normal definition of good, especially after being held captive herself, but it was an example of grief being turned into hope. The birth of their prison was also the birth of the Flash, and the beginning of their family. 

The two of them sat close; their arms brushing together as Barry watched Caitlin think. She bit her lower lip and narrowed her eye, staring forward. He grabbed her hand from where it rested in her lap and put it in his own. She looked at him shyly and smiled. 

“You know, I don’t think I could’ve gotten through everything without you,” said Caitlin. 

“You’ve saved me plenty since we met, only fair that I returned the favour,” smiled Barry. 

“It’s my job to save you, I’m the doctor, it’s not yours.” 

“I mean, of course you’ve stitched me up and healed me, but that’s not what I meant. Sometimes Cait, you don’t even know how good you are do you?” 

She looked at him in surprise. 

“Well, I’m not the superhero,” Caitlin teased. 

“I think you’ll find you are,” said Barry. 

“No, I used to be. I’m not Killer Frost anymore, remember. She’s gone, so now I’ll have to leave the hero-ing up to you.” 

“Someone pretty smart, much smarter than me once said, ‘with or without your powers, you’re still you.”

Caitlin hummed, “sounds like you’ve got some clever friends.” 

“Come here,” Barry held his arms open for her and she hugged him tightly. 

He could feel her breath on his neck, and on his cheek as she raised her head. He reached up, almost subconsciously, to stroke her cheek. He noticed that it was the first time, really, that she hadn’t shied away from affection since they had brought her back. She was not only allowing it, but she seemed grateful. 

They were almost nose to nose with each other, and their eyes stared brightly. Caitlin’s eyes were wide, surprised, and Barry’s were warm and confused. Barry moved his face until his nose brushed hers and pulled Caitlin in for a kiss. They leaned into each other’s touch and deepened the kiss between them. Barry’s hand fell onto her waist and Caitlin’s hand reached into his hair.  


They pulled apart to breathe. The pair locked eyes again and this time Caitlin grabbed Barry’s jaw and passionately kissed him again. He seemed surprised but immediately relaxed into her touch.

“You know they all probably watched that on the monitors,” said Caitlin breathily. 

“They’ll probably be happy, it’s the first of three kisses where we’ve both been there,” said Barry, remembering both Caitlin’s embarrassed relaying of the Everyman and his own cold kiss with Killer Frost. 

They both laughed, flushed, as they caught their breath. 

“You mean a lot to me Caitlin,” Barry said, surprised by his own genuine tone. 

Caitlin opened her mouth to say something, the sides of her lips curved into a smile, but she was interrupted by a very loud static sound above their heads. It felt as though it was directly in her ears but she knew it was coming from the speakers. She jumped in surprise and Barry touched her arm to comfort her. 

The static faded, replaced by an equally loud alarm that rang in their ears. It was like a pattern and rang out every few seconds. They both put their hands over their ears and cringed. It blared, echoing around the room they were sat in. 

“Barry, what was that?” asked Caitlin, her eyes scanning for any sign of danger. All they could see was the hue of red light that accompanied the alarm. 

“Honestly, I don’t know,” he replied gravely. 

“I’ve worked here for longer than I can remember and I’ve never heard that before,” said Caitlin. 

“It sounds like an S.O.S,” commented Barry. 

“Well where’s Harry and Cisco? They’ve been sat outside the door for hours, you really think they’d leave once you came in? They’re both too nosy for that,” argued Caitlin. 

He sped to the door and tugged on it, but it wouldn’t open. He vibrated his hand and held it over the handle, but still, nothing happened. Caitlin got up to help him after he groaned in frustration. Caitlin held up her hand to the door handle but remembered with a heavy heart that she couldn’t do anything anymore. 

“It won’t open, we’re trapped in here,” confirmed Caitlin. 

“Uh, I think that alarm is for a lock down,” Barry said quietly. 

“What?” shouted Caitlin. 

As Caitlin’s panic grew, the lights shut down and they were both left in darkness. She paced around, only stopping when Barry managed to find some emergency lights. The light was dull but Caitlin could still see the worried frown on Barry’s face. 

“Call one of them, or Iris and Joe, get them to explain what’s going on,” Caitlin suggested. 

Barry reached shakily for the phone in his pocket, calling Iris, then Joe, then Cisco. He sighed, “none of them are picking up. Do you think something happened to them?”

“I don’t know, but I think something’s going to happen to us if we don’t get out of here.”


End file.
